Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick questioned the professionalism of his players after they were beaten for the third-straight game on Christmas Day. 

Redick watched on as the Lakers lost 119-96 to the Houston Rockets, with Kevin Durant and Amen Thompson combining for 51 points in a one-sided triumph. 

Indeed, Los Angeles have now lost six of their last 10 games in the NBA, slumping to 19-10 and dropping to fourth in the Western Conference as their poor run continued. 

Luka Doncic scored 25 points and LeBron James added 18 points for the Lakers, who fell to 25-27 in their 27th consecutive appearance on Christmas, and 52nd overall. 

The Lakers' downturn in results has Redick concerned, and he said it must be addressed immediately before their next game against the Sacramento Kings this weekend. 

"We don't care enough right now," Redick said. "And that's the part that bothers you a lot.

"We don't care enough to do the things that are necessary. We don't care enough to be a professional.

"Saturday's practice – I told the guys – it was going to be uncomfortable. The meeting is going to be uncomfortable. I'm not doing another 53 games like this."

Final pic.twitter.com/1XqNDRQOUr

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) December 26, 2025

Los Angeles stumbled out of the blocks as the Rockets jumped into a 14-point lead in the first quarter, with Houston also leading by double digits for the entire second half. 

All 10 of the Lakers' losses this season have been by 10 or more points, with their latest such defeat coming in their last game as they fell 132-108 to the Phoenix Suns. 

Redick questioned his team's defensive efforts after that loss, even calling out a player – without using his name – for being unfamiliar with a basic part of the Lakers' strategy. 

He echoed those critiques on Thursday, saying: "It's a matter of making the choice. And too often, we have guys that don't want to make that choice.

"And it's pretty consistent who those guys are. The two words of the day were effort and execution.

"And I feel like when we've done both of those things at a high level, we've been a good basketball team. When we haven't, we're a terrible basketball team.

"And tonight we were a terrible basketball team. And that started legitimately right away."

Doncic, who had missed the Lakers last game with a calf injury, added seven assists to his point haul but also had a team-high total number of turnovers (six). 

"I don't know what has to change, but something definitely needs to change," Doncic said. "Think we [were] blown out the last three games. It definitely looks, like, terrible.

"We got to figure out, that's the thing we have [to do]. We just got to talk about it.

"Everybody got to talk about it. I know JJ said it's going to be uncomfortable [for everybody]. As they should be. Everybody has got to give better effort, starting with me."