JJ Redick refused to admit he was “exposed” after the loss to the Suns
The Los Angeles Lakers looked like they were ready for a battle to kick things off against the Phoenix Suns on Monday night. Luka Doncic, in particular, looked like he was on his way to another monster scoring spree after dropping 20 points in the first quarter alone. But then the Lakers capitulated in the second quarter, turning the ball over live as the Suns turned them into points on seemingly every possession, and couldn’t recover en route to a 125-108 loss.
Doncic was smothered by the Suns defense in the second quarter; there was a stretch where he coughed up the ball on back-to-back possessions, and Phoenix ran to easy baskets. The Lakers star had nine turnovers on the night, and the team totaled 21, which the Suns accomplished by 32 points. In fact, LA had more turnovers (21) than assists (18) which is just awful.
After the game, the head coach of the Lakers JJ Redick offered a reality check for his team after being punched in the mouth by the Suns team lost Devin Booker to a groin injury in the second quarter.
“If you don’t play hard against that team, you’re going to get exposed,” Redick said, per Jovan Buha of the Athletics.
The Suns really exposed a Lakers team that seemed to be suffering for the second night of back-to-back games. LeBron James may be back, but he too was awful and took until the very end to extend his historic 10-point streak.
The Suns beat the Lakers
The Suns were incredibly locked in throughout the night, and it’s a testament to coach Jordan Ott and Dillon Brooks’ leadership that they were able to beat the Lakers despite coming up short.
Brooks bullied the Lakers all night and finished with 33 points. The Lakers also couldn’t stop Colin Gillespie’s explosion from beyond the arc, as Gillespie drilled eight 3-pointers on the night.
All the Lakers can do now is put this loss in the rearview mirror and look to bounce back Thursday night when they face the Toronto Raptors.
2025-12-02 06:53:00
