The Los Angeles Lakers didn’t play well at all in a Sunday afternoon game on the road against the Phoenix Suns, which cost them a very important win.

Even though the Lakers lost to the Suns 123–113, that score doesn’t show how bad the team looked. Los Angeles’ defence wasn’t even close to good; Phoenix scored 45 points in the first quarter and blew them out. The Lakers got better later in the afternoon, but they still couldn’t get enough stops when they needed to.

D’Angelo Russell then made some good shots at the right time to keep the Lakers in striking distance. LeBron James got things going early by scoring baskets. Anthony Davis finally got involved on offence after a rough start. He was told to shoot every time he got the ball.

Even though Los Angeles lost the game, the fact that James, Davis, and Russell kept scoring was a good sign. The three players scored 20 points or more in five straight games, which set a new club record for a group of players.

The Lakers’ offence has been led by James and Davis many times before, and Russell has been on a tear since the end of January. The three have put themselves at the top of the offensive order, but they’ll need help from the rest of the team to beat teams like the Suns.

However, the bigger problem for L.A. is that they don’t always play well on both ends of the court, even though they know their stars and Russell will score. The team didn’t seem to be focused or excited for most of the afternoon in Phoenix. They didn’t start playing better until they were down by 10 points or more.

Unfortunately for the purple and gold, the next few games will be even tougher. After two days off, the team will play the L.A. Clippers. James, Russell, and Davis will try to make it three games in a row.