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Lakers Highlights: LA's Playoff Hopes Take a Hit With Loss to Phoenix Suns

The Lakers will have an uphill battle for the rest of the season.

Martand Bhagavatula

Lakers Highlights: LA's Playoff Hopes Take a Hit With Loss to Phoenix Suns
Lakers Highlights: LA's Playoff Hopes Take a Hit With Loss to Phoenix Suns /
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Your 31-28 Los Angeles Lakers have fallen to the 34-24 Phoenix Suns 123-113, now sitting in a dangerous position in the standings. 

They were out-rebounded 51-34, specifically being killed on the offensive glass, letting up 14 boards to a Suns team that is small and typically struggles in that regard.

Combine that with letting every Suns starter put up 20+ points (outside of Jusuf Nurkic, who had 18 points), and LA stacked the odds against themselves. 

For the Lakers, their offense was pretty solid after a slow start, as despite falling down 17 in the first quarter, the team shot 52% from the field and hit 15 3-pointers at a 43% clip, shooting better than Phoenix at both levels. They also won the turnover battle, suggesting that overall, the rebounding was the X-factor in the loss. 

Anthony Davis put up 22 points and 14 rebounds in a whopping 42 minutes, while LeBron James and D'Angelo Russell added 28 points and 20 points, respectively. Off the bench, LA got no production, including a terrible game from new acquisition Spencer Dinwiddie, who put up a scant three points on 20% shooting in 23 minutes. 

With regards to the standings, prior this game, they were 2.5 games behind Phoenix, the West's eighth seed. Now, a game further back, they'll slide down to the 10 seed behind the Golden State Warriors, who play later today. 

If the Warriors lose, LA will regain the ninth seed, but regardless, they're falling deeper and deeper out of contention for the conference's top eight, which makes their playoff lives much harder as they'll have to win back-to-back single-elimination games, on the road, prior to, best-case scenario, becoming the 8 seed. 

Here are some LA's top plays on the day:

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Martand Bhagavatula
MARTAND BHAGAVATULA

Martand is currently a student at the University of Southern California, and has prior experience in the NIL space, sports financial advisory, and publishing in sports analytics. As a Lakers, Chargers, and Angels fan, he often finds himself disappointed.

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