The 15-5 Los Angeles Lakers got served a slice of humble pie on Monday night when they were run out of their own gym against their Pacific Division rival, the 13-9 Phoenix Suns. The Lakers suffered an embarrassing loss in front of their home fans, 125-108.
The Lakers were dealt just their fifth loss of the season, and the Suns snapped LA’s seven-game win streak. It was a rather humiliating loss for the purple and gold, arguably one of their worst of the season.
Still, LA remains the second seed in the loaded Western Conference. The Lakers suffered the loss with a relatively healthy squad, as they were without one of their key players, All-Defensive guard Marcus Smart.
The night before, when they faced the lowly New Orleans Pelicans (3-18), they trotted out a squad on Sunday without Smart or their 21-time All-NBA superstar forward, LeBron James.
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James missed his 15th game of the season on Sunday due to what the team called “left foot injury management.” He was asked about it after the loss on Monday, and he shared this hilarious three-word response to the media.
“It’s called old,” James joked. “You just wake up with sh*t that you didn’t have the night before.”
James has played in five games this season for LA after missing the start of the season due to sciatica on his right side. It was the first time James had missed the start of the season and then some in his career.
The 40-year-old has suffered his fair share of injuries in his career, especially in his time in Los Angeles. Considering his age and wear and tear on his body, it’s no surprise the Lakers took the cautious approach on the first night of a back-to-back.
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However, that rest for James appeared to do no good for himself or his team. LA looked flat for most of the game, and so did James.
The 21-time All-Star recorded only 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting from the field, along with zero rebounds and three assists while being a -6 on the court.
It was not his best outing of the season, and we’ll see how he and the Lakers respond when they hit the court next on Thursday against the Toronto Raptors on the road.
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