After their best defensive performance of the season Sunday night, the Los Angeles Lakers were dismantled by division foe, Phoenix. The Lakers and Suns had a back-and-fourth game through three quarters, but the final period saw the Lakers just completely lose their momentum.
Despite holding the Detroit Pistons to just 19 points in the fourth quarter on Sunday, the Lakers let up 40 against the Suns. Thanks to a 21-8 run late in the game, the Suns walked away with a 120-101 victory and left the Lakers winless against the Western Conference.
Second-year player Julius Randle spoke to the media after the loss and talked about the progression the team has made. Although many saw the win over the Pistons as perhaps a turning point for this young roster, Randle felt the team had lost a step on Monday, via LakersNation.com reporter Serena Winters:
Julius Randle after the Lakers loss to Phoenix: “Mentally, I think we took a step back.” (Lakers have until Friday for their next game).
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) November 17, 2015
As a team, the Lakers committed 17 turnovers and not a single player had a plus/minus above zero. Brandon Knight torched the Lakers all night long and the guard finished the game with a career high in assists as well as his first career triple-double.
The Lakers will have some time off before their next game Friday night against the Toronto Raptors. Los Angeles has just two wins on the season and both of them came against Eastern Conference opponents; however, the Raptors are a very talented team and will surely challenge the Lakers on both ends of the court.