The Los Angeles Lakers failed to claim their second consecutive victory without the services of Kobe Bryant, and instead lost to the lowly Phoenix Suns.
The Lakers faced their division foes Monday night for another return home for point guard Steve Nash. Los Angeles played a game against the Kings on Sunday and it was looking to sweep its first back to back of the season. However, the Suns came out with much more energy than the Lakers and they used their young legs to open up a lead in the fourth quarter.
[GET $5 FREE WHEN YOU ENTER EARLY FOR SPORTSBOOK’S $100,000 BRACKET CHALLENGE]Los Angeles walked off the court losers, 99-76, in one of the toughest losses of the season. After the game, coach Mike D’Antoni spoke to Mike Trudell and pointed to fatigue for the poor play by the Lakers.
D’Antoni: “We ran out of gas … we missed shots … a lot of it was caused by 50-50 balls. They had more energy, more legs.”
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) March 19, 2013
Nevertheless, it was D’Antoni who decided to play a short rotation knowing his players were coming off a back to back. The Lakers clearly looked tired on the court, but D’Antoni chose not to make any changes to the lineup. It is games like these that a coach uses fresh legs on his bench to give his starters a rest, but D’Antoni did not do that.
The Lakers will have some time off before their next game and everyone is hoping Kobe Bryant can make his way back to the court by then.