Lakers Vs Suns: Suns 113-110 in Phoenix as Lakers Drop Third Straight
The Lakers Vs Suns matchup in Phoenix ended in gut-wrenching fashion as Royce O’Neale’s go-ahead 3-pointer with 0. 9 seconds left sealed a 113-110 defeat for the Lakers on Thursday at the Mortgage Matchup Center. The loss extended Los Angeles’ skid to three straight games and left the team closer to the play-in picture despite a furious late rally led by Luka Dončić.
Lakers Vs Suns: final sequence and missed opportunity
A perfectly drawn late play put the Lakers a single shot away from forcing overtime, but the final attempt did not fall. LeBron James and Maxi Kleber set an elevator screen that freed Austin Reaves for a clean corner look; the shot rimmed out at the buzzer. Just before that, Royce O’Neale had buried the go-ahead 3 with 0. 9 seconds remaining, making the margin 113-110 and ending the comeback bid.
Dončić’s second-half surge nearly changes the outcome
Luka Dončić erupted in the second half, producing a berserk finish that nearly erased a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit. Dončić finished with a game-high 41 points on 12-of-21 shooting, adding eight rebounds and eight assists, and hit two clutch 3s late in the fourth that kept the Lakers within striking distance. That late burst inspired the closing rally and forced the dramatic finish in Phoenix.
Suns’ perimeter shooting and offensive rebounding decide game
The Suns outhustled and outworked the Lakers, compensating for the absence of Devin Booker and Dillon Brooks. Phoenix knocked down 22 3-pointers—double the Lakers’ total—on 44% shooting, and turned strong perimeter play into separation earlier in the contest. The Suns also grabbed 15 offensive rebounds, which produced 14 second-chance points and helped preserve the lead when it mattered most.
Bench impact and late-quarter dynamics
Grayson Allen provided a major scoring boost off the bench with a team-high 28 points, including six 3s, and was in position to be the gamebreaker. Yet Gillespie emerged as the decisive bench force down the stretch, finishing with 21 points in 31 minutes and hitting six 3s total. Four of Gillespie’s 3s came in the fourth quarter, and his biggest triple came after Dončić nailed another huge 3 that momentarily brought the Lakers back. That sequence included a pump fake that drew Dončić into the air, allowing Gillespie to restore a five-point cushion for the Suns.
Standings implications and Lakers’ form
The loss dropped the Lakers to 34-24, a mark that nudges them toward the play-in territory. Los Angeles remains No. 6 in the Western Conference but sits only one game ahead of the Suns in seventh. The defeat extended a troubling stretch: the Lakers have lost five of their last seven games and have now dropped three straight.
Schedule ahead: road trip to San Francisco and a run of home games
Los Angeles will head to San Francisco for the first time this season to face the Warriors at Chase Center in their third meeting of the year. After that trip, the Lakers will enjoy a stretch with seven of their following eight games at home. The road test and ensuing home-heavy slate will be a key window for the Lakers to arrest their slide and re-establish consistent energy across four quarters.
Coach JJ Redick reflected on the narrow margin, noting that this was a one-possession clutch game and that the team has lost a few of those recently despite generally strong clutch play throughout the year. The defeat left the Lakers ruing a missed opportunity in Phoenix even as the late surge demonstrated the resilience that can still keep them competitive as the season moves forward.
