Lakers lose against the Suns despite their early problems.
The c could fight their way back after falling behind early on due to errors and a lack of rebounding in the first quarter.
Phoenix — The Lakers lost 123-113 to their Western Conference rivals at Footprint Center on Sunday in a game that had major standings ramifications. Although they came close to rallying from their early problems, they were unable to put together the crucial closing touches against the Suns.
The Lakers (31-28) overcame their sluggish start thanks in part to performances from D’Angelo Russell (20 points, seven assists), Anthony Davis (22 points, 14 rebounds, three steals, and one block), and LeBron James (28 points, 12 assists, seven rebounds, two steals, and one block).
The Lakers, however, are now 1-2 since the All-Star break as a result of the Suns’ timely shooting, which kept them from winning as they left Phoenix.
The Lakers’ self-inflicted mistakes—turnovers and failure to complete defensive possessions with rebounds—caused them to fall down by a considerable margin.
They gave up 11 Suns points in the first quarter due to five mistakes. These turnovers combined with the Suns’ offensive glass dominance (six offensive rebounds for seven second-chance points) led to a 20-point deficit at the half (38-18) and a 17-point advantage (45–27) for Phoenix at the break.
The Lakers improved their defensive rebounding and ball handling in the second and third quarters, winning 62-50 to close the half with a 72-63 deficit and a 95-90 deficit entering the fourth.
The Lakers often closed the gap on the Suns to just two points in the third quarter, but the Suns’ role players’ clutch shooting kept them ahead, particularly in the crucial fourth-quarter minutes of the game.
With 1:18 remaining, O’Neale made another three in transition after James missed a jumper, giving the Suns a 121-108 lead. O’Neale was starting for the first time for the Suns since Phoenix acquired him from the Brooklyn Nets prior to the trade deadline on February 8. Bradley Beal was out due to injury (left hamstring).
Thirty seconds later, Devin Booker (21 points, nine assists) put the Suns ahead with a pull-up jumper. With 53 seconds remaining, Ham requested a timeout and both sides substituted out their rotating players.
After Sunday’s game, the Suns (34–24) jumped up three and a half games to the top of the rankings.