Lakers eliminated from postseason contention with loss to Suns

It ended right here.

The Lakers’ try and win their 18th title ended far in need of their objective, the workforce being eradicated from postseason competition following a 121-110 loss to the Phoenix Suns and the San Antonio Spurs’ win in Denver on Tuesday evening.

However perhaps it actually ended Friday in Los Angeles, when in a final gasp, the Lakers performed an injured LeBron James and a recovering Anthony Davis. Or perhaps it ended the Sunday earlier than that when the Lakers blew a 20-point lead on the identical evening James sprained his left ankle.

Or, perhaps it was throughout when James’ left knee couldn’t be counted on. Or perhaps when Davis sprained his foot when he stepped on Utah middle Rudy Gobert’s. Or when he injured his knee in Minnesota. Or when the workforce was run over by a COVID-19 outbreak in December, or when it bought right into a shoving match. Or when the Lakers traded three gamers and a first-round decide for Russell Westbrook.

The precise second when this Lakers season now not turned viable can and will likely be mentioned. The admirable, albeit delusional makes an attempt to attempt to speak this workforce right into a contender, although, now not must be had.

“Our backs are towards the wall,” coach Frank Vogel stated earlier than the sport. “It’s not over for us.”

Forty-eight minutes later, the wall gained.

Westbrook scored 28, Davis had 21 and Austin Reaves scored 18. Devin Booker led the Suns with 32, Phoenix successfully ending the Lakers’ season two years in a row after eliminating them within the first spherical of final yr’s playoffs.

“This was a season the place we simply didn’t get it achieved,” Carmelo Anthony stated.

Coming into the sport with the first-place Suns with out James, the Lakers confronted elimination with a loss and a Spurs win. And by the point they took the ground for warmups, San Antonio already had a double-digit lead.

James missed his second straight along with his sore left ankle, yet another harm to punctuate a season with so many. Now the query turns into if and when the Lakers will see James on the courtroom once more.

James, the NBA’s scoring chief, can not qualify for the respect until he performs in 70% of his workforce’s video games. He’s two shy of that mark with three video games left.

Successful the scoring title can be a comfort prize in each sense, for a workforce that entered the season with championship hopes and a name-brand roster stuffed with All-Stars and future Corridor of Famers. The Lakers, although, by no means cast any actual cohesion. Amid accidents and dropping combos, Vogel despatched out 39 totally different beginning lineups.

The workforce by no means was greater than three video games above .500 all season. That occurred on Dec. 15 when Reaves hit a game-winner towards the Dallas Mavericks. The subsequent day, the workforce fell into the depths of a COVID-19 outbreak, clearing the way in which for twenty-four gamers to log minutes for the workforce this season.

A attainable twenty fifth — guard Kendrick Nunn, a free-agent acquisition final offseason — nonetheless hasn’t been formally dominated out for the yr by the workforce regardless of taking part in zero minutes whereas recovering from an harm.

The second harm to Davis, towards the Jazz proper earlier than the All-Star break, was an excessive amount of for the Lakers to beat.

The workforce has gained simply 4 occasions since, needing James to attain a minimum of 50 in two of these video games to get victories.

But the Lakers had hoped that an opportunity nonetheless existed, that the workforce may win its means by means of the NBA’s play-in event and get into the playoffs. And in the event that they peaked on the proper time, the Lakers nonetheless may contend.

However that peak by no means got here, the Lakers discovering new rock bottoms all by means of their schedule.

Needing wins and dealing with a brutal schedule down the stretch, the Lakers have misplaced seven video games in a row. Tuesday, they performed effectively sufficient for many of the first half earlier than the Suns pulled away with out a lot of a chase.

With 2:24 left and trailing by 16, the Lakers referred to as day out with their gamers gathering on the bench. Davis and Westbrook didn’t get again up, the clock left to run down with out the workforce’s greatest gamers on the ground.

It was the primary public signal of concession. It was throughout, the Lakers’ experiment this season formally a failure.

“We simply fell quick by means of a disjointed season,” Vogel stated. “We’re all disillusioned.”