LeBron James strolled to the scorer’s table Tuesday night and went through his pregame routine of throwing chalk up in the air, an iconic moment in his NBA-record 23rd season and on 41st birthday.

James still marvels with his abilities to be a force at this stage of his career, leaving teammates and opponents in awe.

But the Lakers were unable to give James the celebration he wanted, losing 128-106 to the Detroit Pistons at Crypto.com Arena.

The Lakers, who had 20 turnovers, have lost four of their last five games, and their 11 losses this season have been by at least 10 points.

James finished with 17 points and Luka Doncic had 30 points and 11 assists but they took a seat on the bench for good with four minutes and 9 seconds left when the Lakers were down 122-96.

The Lakers (20-11) were better defensively in the third quarter after struggling in the first half. After giving up 36 points in the first quarter, 34 in the second, the Lakers gave up 26 in the third and were down 96-88.

But the Lakers fell apart in the fourth, getting run over by an 18-6 Pistons run that put the Lakers in a 20-point hole midway through the quarter. Detroit went on to outscore the Lakers 32-18 in the quarter.

Lakers coach JJ Redick called a timeout with six minutes remaining, but that didn't stop the Pistons (25-8), who got 27 points and 11 assists from Cade Cunningham.

Before the game, Redick said he's had conversations with James about what it takes to play at such a high level for so long.

“He talked about, you had to sacrifice loved ones,” Redick said. “I think there's an external cost that comes with caring, and I think there's also an internal cost, and that can be exhaustion, could be burnout, could be mental fatigue, physical fatigue.

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"That's why you don't see many — I don't know about in other industries — but you don't see many great athletes that can sustain it for as long as he sustained it."

Detroit also showed its ability to sustain a level of greatness, scoring 70 points in the first 24 minutes and making 67.5% of their shots and 57.1% of their threes. They had 19 fast-break points in the first half.

Doncic had 24 points in the first half, making eight of 10 free throws.

James had 15 at the half, going five of 10 from the field and three of six from three-point range.

Lakers forward Rui Hachimura missed the game with right calf soreness and is expected to be out for about a week.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.