PHOENIX — A late surge wasn’t enough. And inconsistent energy continued to disrupt the Lakers’ rhythm, even more so in the desert.
A late surge from Luka Doncic and the Lakers nearly pulled the Lakers back from a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit, but Royce O’Neal’s 3-pointer with 0.9 seconds left sealed the Lakers’ 113-110 loss Thursday at Mortgage Game Center.
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The Lakers played a perfect game with 0.9 seconds left, but failed to make a shot. A sharp elevator screen gave Austin Reeves a clean shot from the corner, but the shot missed before the end and the Lakers lost their third straight game.
Reeves hit a key three-pointer with one minute left in the game, tying the score at 108. The Lakers’ rise was fueled by two stellar 3-pointers from Doncic (who made six on the night) and an all-around effort from the rest of the team.
Doncic made 12 of 21 shots and scored a game-high 41 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists.
The Suns outplayed the Lakers throughout the game, making up for the absence of two of their most productive players, Devin Booker and Dillon Brooks.
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their position
The Lakers’ record fell to 34 wins and 24 losses, and they are slowly approaching the playoffs. They’re still sixth in the Western Conference, but just one game away from dropping to seventh (Suns).
The Lakers have lost five of their last seven games.
Game Changer: Suns’ Burning Three-Point Shooting
This wasn’t just O’Neal’s last shot.
The damage was done early, when Phoenix established distance with outside shooting; the Lakers were never fully contained. The Suns hit 22 3-pointers — twice the Lakers’ total — and hit open shots when they needed them most.
Even after Doncic hit a three-pointer in the final seconds to narrow the gap, the Suns responded with a three-pointer.
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Game Breaker: Colin Gillespie
Although Grayson Allen came off the bench to score a team-high 28 points and could have easily been the game-ender in this game, Gillespie was rewarded with the game, making four of his six 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.
After Doncic hit his second consecutive 3-pointer, Gillespie hit his biggest 3-pointer of the night in the final seconds to keep the Lakers close, allowing the Slovenian to bite a fake in the air to give the Suns a five-point lead.
Gillespie scored 21 points in 31 minutes. Allen also hit six three-pointers that night.
next step
The Lakers travel to San Francisco’s Chase Center for the first time this season for Game 3 against the Golden State Warriors.
Los Angeles will then play seven of its next eight games at home.
