PHOENIX — Days after losing to the Orlando Magic in a heartbreaker, the Lakers focused on trying to beat a Phoenix Suns team missing key players.
In the end, the result was the same — disappointment.
The Lakers lost 113-110 after Austin Reaves missed a three-point attempt as time expired. Royce O’Neale‘s three-pointer with 0.9 of a second left sent the Lakers to their third consecutive loss.
On the final play, Marcus Smart inbounded the ball and LeBron James and Maxi Kleber set a double-screen to get Reaves open. Reaves floated to the corner and took a cross-court pass from Smart. But Reaves’ shot bounced off the rim, sending the Lakers to another loss despite Luka Doncic‘s 41 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
The fourth quarter went back-and-forth before the Suns built a 12-point lead with 6:28 left. The Lakers quickly recovered and tied the score on a Reaves three-pointer with 1:00 left. O’Neale scored on an offensive rebound to give the Suns a 110-108 lead before James scored on a put-back to tie the score.
The Suns then called a timeout to set up O’Neale’s winning shot.
Phoenix, which had lost six of its last eight games entering Thursday, played without All-Star guard Devin Booker (right hip strain), Dillon Brooks (left hand fracture) and Jordan Goodwin (left calf strain).
Still, the Lakers (34-24) knew the Suns (34-26) would play hard and throw up a lot of three-pointers — Phoenix shot 22 for 50 from three-point range.
When the Lakers went up by three early in the fourth, things looked good. But then the Suns went on a 13-3 run.
Lakers coach JJ Redick was forced to call a timeout after Oso Ighodaro rolled in for an uncontested dunk, putting the Lakers down 96-86 with 7:43 seconds left.
The Lakers went down by 10 points in the second quarter, but took a two-point lead late in the quarter on a Reaves three-pointer. But Grayson Allen scored on a layup to tie the score 49-49 at halftime.
The Lakers opened a 13-point lead in the third quarter, but ended up tied 80-80 entering the fourth.
Allen carried the Suns in the third, scoring 16 points. He missed just one of his shots and just one of his five three-pointers in the third.
James finished with 15 points, six rebounds and five assists. Reaves scored 14 points and Smart had 13 points.
The Lakers lost to Orlando on Tuesday by one point on a botched play when Doncic didn’t shoot a three-pointer and instead passed the ball to James, who missed a last-second three-point attempt.
It was a tough way for the Lakers to end their eight-game homestand, going 4-4 over that stretch.
Redick was asked if it is easy to move on after a tough loss.
“Well, I think that’s not in general,” Redick said. “I think there are specific times throughout the season where you talk about what just happened, more than just your normal review. You’re not going to do that after every game. So, we had a great practice and meeting on Monday after the Boston game and you don’t need to belabor every single loss.”
ETC.
Lakers forward Rui Hachimura didn’t play against the Suns because of an illness, the team said. But backup center Jaxson Hayes, who missed the last game with right ankle soreness, played 21 minutes against the Suns, finishing with eight points and three rebounds.
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