Lakers lose first ever NBA Cup game in rout to Suns

For the first time since it’s creation, the Lakers lost an NBA Cup game on Tuesday, falling to the Suns in a blowout.

It took two seasons and nearly ten games, but the Lakers finally dropped their first NBA Cup game on Tuesday after being dominated by the Suns, 127-100.

In a story that mirrored their performance against the Nuggets, the Lakers followed a solid first half with an abysmal third quarter. Phoenix outscored the purple and gold 36-18 in the third period to seize control of the game.

Anthony Davis dominated with 25 points, 15 rebounds, five assists, a steal and four blocks. Austin Reaves pitched in with 15 points on 6-12 shooting.

LeBron James scored 18 points with 10 assists and eight rebounds. Rui Hachimura had seven points. D’Angelo Russell ended with 16 points off the bench.

Both teams had a fiery start, pun intended, by trading baskets back and forth. AD and LeBron were shouldering the offensive load for the Lakers. AD was perfect from the field early, converting on all his midrange shots and a dunk. LeBron didn’t just make shots but was dishing dimes, including a nice pass to Rui for a dunk.

Bradley Beal, who was back from injury, drilled a pair of wide-open 3-pointers for the Suns. Phoenix was up two with two minutes left in the quarter. Devin Booker started heating up with two straight midrange shots as well.

Minus AD, neither team was putting in too much effort defensively. At the end of the first, the Suns were up 31-25.

The Lakers got to within three to start the second quarter. Both teams were still not playing much defense. The Suns were a step above LA offensively, keeping them ahead. Despite starting the quarter shakey offensively, the Lakers managed to stay within single digits.

Los Angeles was heavily struggling to guard the perimeter which led to the Suns draining a lot of wide-open shots. Kevin Durant was automatic and already connected on two 3-pointers. The Suns were up eight.

Austin went on his own 8-0 run and the game was tied. The Lakers found themselves up one after an and-1 by AD.

The half ended with two great plays one with Suns rookie Ryan Dunn tipping a shot in and Austin knocking down a middy for LA. Phoenix had the lead by two at the break.

Austin picked up where he left off in the second quarter by drilling a 3-pointer to start the second half. After a dismal first half, Jusuf Nurkić scored 10 points for the Suns in the third quarter and, as a result, the Lakers found themselves down by six.

The energy had gone down for Los Angeles. Their shots weren’t falling and their defense was atrocious. The Suns went up by 11, forcing a timeout. A three by KD only added to their momentum.

Phoenix was on a 19-4 run, LA was down 17 and staring their first NBA cup loss right in the eyes. A three by Dalton Knecht stopped some bleeding very briefly. There was nothing positive to say about the end of the third for the Lakers as the Suns were up 20.

A three by Beal opened up the final frame. The Lakers hoisted away from the 3-point line but were missing at a rapid rate. The energy and effort were non-existent, eventually leading to JJ Redick pulling the starters ahead of a back-to-back on Wednesday.

Key Takeaways:

This team can’t rely only on AD and LeBron to get them wins. It’s a team effort. Wake up.

It’s the second season in a row that the Lakers are in dire need of Jarred Vanderbilt’s defense while he’s out with an injury. Who will step up? Somebody needs to step up their defense. Again, it’s a team effort.

We’ve seen the Lakers do this far too often: they’ll have a bad turnover and then start jacking up ridiculous 3-pointers, while the opposing team cooks them to a crisp. Where is the logic in that?

The Lakers’ next game will be Wednesday against the San Antonio Spurs at 5:00 PM PT.

You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.