Heavily beaten at home Monday evening by Phoenix (125-108) when they had just had seven victories, the Lakers were notably weighed down by the nine balls lost by Luka Doncic, yet still the author of a huge match (38 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists). The Slovenian felt afterwards that he was solely responsible for this defeat.
Winners in their last seven outings, the Lakers seemed set to continue their superb series again, this Monday evening when Phoenix came. The Suns decided otherwise by making the Californians, who have been impressive since the start of the season (15 wins – 5 losses), lose on their floor (125-108). Luka Doncic, however, did not count his efforts to try to offer an eighth success in a row to the runner-up in the Western Conference behind the untouchable OKC of Shai Gilgeous Alexander.
The Slovenian compiled 38 points (15 of 26 shots, including 3 of 8 three-pointers), 11 rebounds and 5 assists against the Arizona franchise, led by Dillon Brooks and Collin Gillespie (61 points between them). Paradoxically, the former Dallas star leader also weighed down his team by losing nine balls during this meeting. That is practically more than all the rest of his teammates combined (12, including 5 for Austin Reaves alone).
Doncic: “We have to play better”
Moreover, for “Luka Magic”, there was no need to look far for the person responsible for this 5th loss for the Lakers since the start of the year. “It was my fault. I should never finish a match with nine turnovers. I have to do a lot better than that,” railed the Slovenian superstar, also angry at the performance of the entire team more generally. “When you play like that, you give the opponent too many opportunities. We failed to respond (…) We must be more disciplined. We have to play better. »
Doncic first regretted that the LA players had not managed to better muzzle the opposing pivot Mark Williams (13 points, 6 rebounds), who had quickly turned into a nightmare for the Lakers. “He was everywhere. We tried to find spaces but he came back with every action.” A road trip of three meetings (Toronto, Boston and Philadelphia) now awaits Doncic and his partners, who will then welcome Victor Wembanyama’s Spurs. The Slovenian makes no secret of it: he owes his team a revenge.
