The Los Angeles Lakers suffered their first loss in nearly three weeks on the heels of LeBron James struggles, snapping a seven-game win streak with a 125-108 defeat to the Phoenix Suns at home on Sunday.
Despite Luka Doncic dropping 38 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, he received little support, outscoring the rest of the Lakers’ starters by 12 points through three quarters and matching them through four after sitting out the final 15 minutes.
James stumbled to keep his streak of 10-point games alive, finishing with 10 points on 30 percent shooting with three assists, three turnovers and no rebounds. Austin Reaves added 16 points and four rebounds.
The loss dropped the Lakers to 15-5 on the season, keeping them in second place in the Western Conference behind a dominant Oklahoma City Thunder squad.
Fans reacted to James’ struggles on Monday as the Lakers’ seven-game win streak came to an end despite a standout performance from Doncic.
The Suns built a 66-52 lead at halftime, powered by 23 points from Dillon Brooks and 11 from Devin Booker. Doncic had 27 points on 10-of-17 shooting and Reaves added 10 at the break.
Phoenix maintained a decisive 19-point lead entering the fourth quarter and never looked back, as the Lakers threw in the towel, pulling their remaining starters at the 5:44 mark to close out the loss.
Brooks powered the Suns to the dominant win, finishing with 33 points, while Booker added 11. Phoenix improved to 13-9, jumping into sixth in the Western Conference.
The Lakers will hit the road, looking to start a new streak against the Toronto Raptors on Thursday.
