The Lakers fell behind early on and struggled to get back into the game for much of Saturday night’s matchup against the league-dwelling Phoenix Suns, as they fell to the league’s worst team, 118-109.
Despite LeBron James rallying the troops with big numbers and an efficient shooting performance, the Lakers were unable to keep up the necessary collective effort to get a win on the road. It didn’t matter they played against the league’s worst team, or that they were challenged on the night after they hosted the league-leading Milwaukee Bucks.
James had 27 points, 16 assists and nine rebounds in the loss while the Lakers continued to float away in the current of the playoff race.
JaVale McGee was a force for the Lakers at the center position but it wasn’t quite enough for the Lakers to make a difference in Saturday’s matchup, which might be the biggest sigh of how dire things are for the purple and gold.
Without a true center, DeAndre Ayton cleaned up on the interior and got a healthy dose of foul shots to dominate the Lakers on the inside. With a tired LeBron taking over at center for much of the game and Kuzma starting as the nominal center, the Lakers were unable to control the action.
It didn’t help matters that Kuzma had yet another tough game offensively and the Lakers were once again subpar on the defensive end.
