Jaxson Hayes grabbed a rebound late in the second quarter and passed the ball to Luka Doncic, who promptly threw a bad pass for a turnover. A few seconds later, Doncic got a rebound and lost the ball for another turnover. Then he threw away another pass. A minute later, he did it again.
Over a roughly two-minute stretch in the second quarter, Doncic turned the ball over four times.
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It was that kind of night for Doncic and the Lakers. Their inability to take care of the basketball doomed them in a 125-108 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena.
The Lakers had 22 turnovers and Doncic had nine.
“Yeah, that was my fault. No way I can have nine turnovers in the game,†said Doncic, who also had 38 points and 11 rebounds. “So in that second quarter… they’re giving the shots, (so) instead of shooting the ball, I feel like I was trying to get (everyone) involved. But there’s no way I should have nine turnovers.â€
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Austin Reaves was nearly as bad, turning it over five times.
“I dribbled the ball literally out of bounds one time,†said Reaves, who had 16 points. “I’ve done it before. I did it tonight and at some point I’ll probably do it again. … I was bad in that aspect, so I gotta be better.â€
LeBron James, who extended his double-figure scoring streak in the regular season to 1,297 games, had three turnovers as the Lakers’ Big Three combined for 17.
Entering the game, the Suns averaged an NBA-high 10.6 steals per game, and the Lakers were aware of that.
“Turnovers, turnovers (and) transition points,†said James about what went wrong for the Lakers. “And obviously on our home floor and against a disruptive defense like that, you canâ€t turn the ball over that much. And they were pretty much all pick-sixes. They not only turned us over, they were able to convert.â€
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Lakers hit the road
Lakers center Jaxson Hayes battles Suns forward Oso Ighodaro for the ball during the Lakers’ loss Monday. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Now the Lakers must take their show on the road, playing three games in four nights on the East Coast against opponents all above .500.
They start Thursday night against the 14-7 Toronto Raptors, then face the 11-9 Boston Celtics on Friday before finishing the trip Sunday against the 10-9 Philadelphia 76ers.
“Well, the road trip should always refocus you, no matter how youâ€re playing,†James said. “So, I donâ€t think it took for us to have this game tonight to refocus us.â€
The Raptors have lost two straight, but they are 8-2 in their last 10 games.
“I don’t watch too much NBA, sorry,†said Doncic when asked to share his thoughts on the Raptors. “I know they have a good record. I love the coach [Darko Rajakovic]. … I know he has (them) playing physical, so we’re gonna see.”
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The Lakers will also see if James will play in back-to-back games.
He didnâ€t play against the Pelicans on Sunday night in the first game of a back-to-back.
Since the Lakers listed James out with left foot injury management, he was asked if that was something new for this season after he missed the first 14 games with sciatica.
“Yeah, itâ€s called old,†said James, who turns 41 this month.
Poor defense
Lakers coach coach JJ Redick looks on as the Lakers play the Suns on Monday. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
The Lakers had a defensive plan in place, but it didnâ€t work.
They allowed the Suns to shoot 57% from the field and 44% from three-point range.
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Collin Gillespie, a known three-point shooter, went eight for 14 from three-point range on his way to 28 points. Royce Oâ€Neale made two three-pointers.
“I don’t remember ever talking about going under (screens) versus lasers (three-point shooters), and Gillespie’s making threes and Royce O’Neale was making threes, going under,†Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “I don’t know, I don’t know. It’s a weird sort of thing.â€
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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