LeBron James was accused of a lack of class after walking off the court alone with over 10 seconds left of the
Los Angeles Lakers' 131-120 loss to the
Milwaukee Bucks.
The Los Angeles Lakers produced a good performance at Staples Center but were killed by a 15-2 Bucks run to end the fourth quarter.
And that meant LeBron's 31-point, seven-rebound, 10-assist display was in vain as Los Angeles again missed a chance to build momentum as seek a spot in the playoffs.
Luke Walton's team are now 30-32 for the season and remain 10th in the Western Conference.
The Lakers are three-and-a-half games back on the West's eighth-seed, the San Antonio Spurs.
They have just 20 regular-season games remaining of the year as they seek a first trip to the playoffs since 2013.
The Lakers' fate was made clear late in the final quarter and after Brandon Ingram, who scored 31 points to continue his scoring streak, missed a three-point attempt, LeBron instantly walked off court.
And the 34-year-old was hammered by
NBA analysts and fans on social media for the incident.
Fox Sports analyst Skip Bayless said on Twitter: "Not a classy move by LeBron walking off the court with 10 seconds left and heading straight to the locker room."
And fans also slammed the four-time MVP, who has been accused of deflecting the blame of the Lakers' recent struggles on to his team-mates and not accepting any of the flak himself.
One tweeted: "Lebron is a sorry ass loser can’t play d and can’t even stay on the court for the final 10 seconds."
"Lebron is a f***ing bum, walks off the court, such bad sportsmanship," another wrote.
One said: "LeBron walking off the court was embarrassing."
Another NBA fan said: "Walking off the court and not shaking hands with time left on the clock against the Bucks. Stay classy LeBron."
One wrote: "Lmao this is why Lebron isnt the GOAT. MJ wouldve taken the L humbly. This man literally left his teammates out on the court with time left. I wonder who is to blame for tonight's L?"
One more said: "The #Lakers 30-32, out of the playoffs, losing to lottery teams, blow a potential win verse the best team in the east, LeBron walking off the court early like a b***h but at least all the Hollywood stuff is going well. #BasketballSecond #Overrated #TheGOATmya**"
The Lakers' next game is against the Phoenix Suns - who own the worst record in the league on 12-51 - on Saturday night (6pm PST/2am UK time).
But L.A. boast an underwhelming record against teams with records below .500 this year, having lost to Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks, Atlanta Hawks and Memphis Grizzlies.