Overview
- Phoenix beat Los Angeles 113-110 on Royce O’Neale’s 3-pointer with 1.7 seconds left after Austin Reaves missed a designed look to tie.
- The Lakers have dropped three straight and five of seven to sit 34-24, sixth in the West with only a one-game buffer over the Suns.
- Luka Dončić scored 41 and urged a reset to a game-by-game mindset, while Reaves described the locker-room frustration level as “very high.”
- Head coach JJ Redick acknowledged the spotlight and his own errors, saying their losses are “louder” and adding, “I make mistakes.”
- Defense remains the glaring issue (around 24th in efficiency), analysts have blasted effort and rotations, data shows the LeBron–Dončić–Reaves trio underperforms, and Deandre Ayton’s 2-point night and late benching renewed calls for more Jaxson Hayes minutes.