PHOENIX — LeBron James glared quickly over at the Lakers’ bench where Anthony Davis wore a T-shirt honoring Kobe Bryant instead of a uniform.
Andre Drummond had just worked for an offensive rebound and, in the tightest of quarters, fired a pass off James’ knees — the Phoenix Suns heading the other way without anything he could do about it.
After Game 4, James spoke about his broad shoulders. During Game 5, he spent more time shaking his head in shock and disbelief to how things could go so wrong so fast.
After two wins in three games, the first-round series belonged to the Lakers. In the eight quarters since, things couldn’t have changed more, the Lakers standing dangerously close to elimination after a 115-85 loss Tuesday night.
With Davis unable to play because of a strained groin and the Lakers offense stuck in a tremendous rut, just having James clearly isn’t enough. The Lakers shot 34.5% from the field, only had 10 points in the second quarter, and trailed by more than 30 points in the second half.
Devin Booker, who finished with 30 points, scored 18 in the first quarter, bouncing off of defenders and displaying why he’s one of the most creative shot-makers in the NBA. Cameron Payne, the speedster backup guard, flew by whatever defender was in front of him on his way to 16 points.
And with the crowd chanting “Beat L.A.,” the Suns’ leader, Chris Paul, stepped into a top-of-the-key 3-pointer, prompting a roar from the 16,000 fans in the building.
They didn’t even need him — the shot put the Suns ahead by 21 points.
All of the Lakers' warts were exposed Tuesday, the lack of cohesion, the late-season injuries, the wonky shooting and the inconsistent offense.
Dennis Schroder, acquired to help provide offensive punch in the offseason, missed all nine shots and dished out just one assist. James had 24 points and Kyle Kuzma, with 15 points, was the only other Laker to reach double figures.
The dreadful 3-point shooting that heated up just at the right time last season in the bubble was the only cold thing in Phoenix on Tuesday, with each miss making the Lakers less and less likely to willingly shoot then the next time they were open.
James hit made six of 10, the bulk coming during a 17-point third quarter, but by then, none of it mattered.
The Lakers' offensive flow was a mess, James firing passes to places where teammates weren’t — the Suns turning those mistakes into buckets the other way, sometimes with James walking up the court helplessly behind the play.
He smiled and playfully slapped his hand against his head as a layup rimmed out in the third quarter, yet another mistake that ended with a Booker basket on the other end. Booker and Payne combined to make 20 of 33 shots.
Davis appeared to try to play, going through multiple on-court workouts before tipoff. And while people in and around the team believed Davis was probably not going to play, the Lakers didn’t officially rule him out until 30 minutes prior to game time.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, the other Lakers starter sidelined with an injury, was able to return to the lineup, but he was clearly bothered by his knee injury, Caldwell-Pope was ineffective on both ends of the court, playing only 15 minutes before being ruled out for the remainder of the game.
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