JJ Redick dismisses Space Jam reference after brutal Suns loss

LOS ANGELES – The The Los Angeles Lakers ended their seven-game winning streak on Monday following their 125-108 loss to the Phoenix Suns. After a decent start to the first quarter in which both teams were tied at 31, the Lakers were outscored 94-77 the rest of the game. It was an uncharacteristic game for the Lakers compared to how they’ve played during their streak, and that’s why the head coach JJ Redick had to mention Space Jam when talking about loss.

“Maybe it was a three-in-four night brain fog, I don’t know. I don’t remember ever talking about fouling against lasers and (Colin) Gillespie making threes and Royce O’Neal making threes, I don’t know. It’s a weird thing,” Redick said. “It’s like the Monstars take over the people you grew up training, and they don’t do anything they normally do. It’s weird.”

A big reason for the Lakers’ loss was turnovers. The Lakers turned the ball over 21 times compared to only 11 for the Sun. That led to 32 points for the Suns including 28 fast break points. Luka Doncic was one of the main culprits in that regard with nine of those misses.

After the game, Dončić took full responsibility for the defeat. Dončić started the game with a hot streakbut admitted that he needs to take better care of the ball.

“Yes, it’s my fault. There’s no way I have nine turnovers in a game,” Doncic said. “In that second quarter, instead of just shooting, instead of shooting the ball, I was trying to get involved, but there’s no way I’m going to have nine turnovers.”

The Lakers trailed by double digits at halftime, 66-52, and were never able to cut the lead to single digits in the second half. There were times when it looked like the Lakers might be able to string together a run, but Redick explained the difficulty of trying to correct the poor play.

“The basketball gods reward you and they also punish you,” Redick said. “So, in the moments when we had the opportunity to be rewarded, we didn’t do what we should have done and we were punished. And it was throughout the game, not just one moment.”

The Lakers will now go on a three-game road trip starting against the Toronto Raptors on Thursday. They also have breaks against the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers before returning home on Dec. 10 to host the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Cup quarterfinals.