Lakers taking aim at three-point slump

Luka Doncic's shot trickled over the front of the rim, bounced high above the basket and swished through the net. When the threepointer finally fell, Doncic raised both arms in equal parts disbelief and relief.

- BY THỤC NHI NGUYEN

CHRIS CARLSON Associated Press AUSTIN REAVES is enjoying a career season offensively but has struggled with his three-point shooting.

He's the NBA's leading scorer, but Doncic is shooting a career-worst 31.1% from three on a career-high 11 three-point attempts per game. Austin Reaves, also enjoying a career season offensively, is shooting the same poor percentage from three-point range.

Almost every Lakers rotation player is shooting below his career average from three-point range through 16 games this season. Shooting 33.3% from three, the Lakers are 26th out of 30 teams. Their 10.9 makes a game are the fewest in the league.

"We got to shoot the ball better," coach JJ Redick said after the Lakers survived a comeback attempt against the Jazz on Sunday.

"But it's got to be a belief in each other and a belief in ourselves to knock down shots." Nearing the 20-game mark of the season, the Lakers are not fretting about their frigid outside shooting. Redick recalled how the Lakers shot 34.8% from three in the first two months of last season. Then after shooting 46.7% in a two-point loss to the Detroit Pistons on Dec. 23, the Lakers made 37.7% of their threes for the rest of the regular season.

Part of the shift came after the trade that brought Doncic. He shot 37.9% from three while with the Lakers last season, and the team's overall three-point attempts increased from 33.8 per game to 40.4 in the final two months of the season.