Suns

PHOENIX — Austin Reaves returned from a left calf strain that sidelined him for three games, but the Lakers’ second-leading scorer did nothing to fix the team’s most glaring weakness.

The Lakers’ defense collapsed in a 132-108 loss to the Suns on Tuesday at Mortgage Matchup Center, giving up a season-high field goal percentage (59%) and tying their mark for most points allowed in a loss this season. Led by a combined 17-for-29 shooting from star guard Devin Booker (21 points) and Dillon Brooks (25 points), the Suns easily eclipsed the 56.5% they shot against the Lakers on Dec. 1.

“The theme with our team again is like these young teams that move, we just can’t move,” said coach JJ Redick, whose team is 1-2 against the Suns (16-13). “So it’s like we’re stuck in mud.”

The Lakers (19-9) remain in the top half of the competitive Western Conference, but with blowout losses to Atlanta, Oklahoma City and San Antonio, L.A. is clinging to a plus-1.1 in point differential. They lost consecutive games for the first time Tuesday and limped into a marquee Christmas Day matchup against the Houston Rockets with a multitude of injuries.

Playing without Luka Doncic, who is day to day with a left leg contusion he sustained Saturday against the Clippers, LeBron James led the Lakers with 23 points on seven-for-14 shooting. Deandre Ayton had a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double while Reaves came off the bench for the first time in two seasons and scored 17 points with two assists and three turnovers.

Redick said Reaves was not on an official minutes restriction after his weeklong absence, but that the team would monitor his workload “in real time.”

“It’s hard for me to start, at the rotation that Bron has, for me to stay around that 20-25 minute mark,” said Reaves, who played 21 minutes and 46 seconds. “So [coming off the bench] got brought up in my shooting time. I said I was open to whatever. Definitely felt weird coming off the bench, but it’s basketball at the end of the day.”

Calf injuries, even the most minor, have been major concerns for the NBA since three stars suffered Achilles tendon tears during last season’s playoffs. Reaves, who carried the team during the early part of a season that has featured injury absences from James and Doncic, led the team in minutes per game. His 775 minutes entering Tuesday were second-most on the team behind Rui Hachimura. The Japanese forward missed his second consecutive game with right groin soreness.

Lakers star Lebron James puts up a shot against the Suns on Tuesday night. James finished with 23 points.

(Rick Scuteri / Associated Press)

When asked whether Reaves needed a physical reset after carrying such a large load, Redick acknowledged a break may have been necessary.

Reaves looked out of sorts when he entered with 5:23 remaining in the first quarter. He fumbled the handoff on his first touch coming off a screen. When he tried to thread bounce passes through tiny windows, the ball was kicked away or deflected. He got attacked on defense and gave up consecutive driving layups to Suns guard Jamaree Bouyea.

Bouyea had 14 points off the bench, including a layup over Marcus Smart, who failed to draw a charge call, in the third quarter. While Smart laid in the key appealing to officials, Bouyea didn’t hesitate to leap over the Lakers’ guard and score. The Lakers fell behind by as many as 29 in the third quarter, and Redick quietly waved the white flag with 5:22 remaining in the third when he put reserve forward Maxi Kleber and rookie Adou Thiero onto the floor.

The Phoenix crowd started to file out in bunches with seven minutes remaining when the lead reached 30.

Even courtside seats were empty in the final minutes. Brooks took advantage, sitting in a courtside seat on the baseline as Thiero stepped to the free throw line with 1:16 remaining. Brooks waved his arms as a distraction. Thiero split his two shots.

Etc.

Center Jaxson Hayes left the game with left ankle soreness in the second quarter and didn’t return.. Redick said it was an aggravation of a previous injury suffered last week.

James steered the Los Angeles Lakers to a narrow victory over the Phoenix Suns after blowing a 20-point lead.

LeBron James gave Los Angeles the lead on two free throws with three seconds left, then blocked Grayson Allen’s potential game-winning three-pointer at the other end, and the Lakers survived a wild finish to defeat the hosts Phoenix Suns 116-114 on Sunday night.

Luka Doncic finished with 29 points, James 26 and Deandre Ayton 20 as part of a double-double with a game-high 13 rebounds for the Lakers, who trailed 77-71 before holding Phoenix scoreless for 8:05 bridging the third and fourth periods, using a 24-0 flurry to vault into a 95-77 lead.

The Suns regained the lead at 114-113 when Dillon Brooks buried the third of his fourth-quarter three-pointers with 12.2 seconds left. But Brooks, who had drawn an earlier technical foul for jawing with James, was nailed with a second “T” while celebrating his success and was ejected.

James missed the subsequent free throw, but then pulled up from beyond the arc with three seconds left and drew a three-shot foul on Devin Booker. He made the last two of the attempts to retake the lead.

Down one, the Suns got one final shot, but James blocked Allen’s potential game-winning three-point attempt and Marcus Smart, fouled after snatching the rebound, added a free throw to make it a two-point margin of victory.

The Suns led 77-71 after two free throws by Booker with 5:28 remaining in the third period before not scoring again until the third minute of the final period, falling behind 95-77 in the process. Phoenix missed 14 straight shots and mixed in seven turnovers during its scoreless spell.

Doncic was the game’s leading scorer despite missing 12 of his 14 attempts from behind the three-point line. The Lakers shot just 7 for 37 from deep.

Jaxson Hayes added 12 points for Los Angeles, which avenged an earlier 125-108 home loss to the Suns.

Booker had 27 points, Mark Williams 20 and Brooks 18 for Phoenix, which lost despite outshooting the Lakers 48.8 percent to 43.2 percent overall and 35.1 percent to 18.9 percent on three-pointers.

Allen, who shared game-high assist honours with Booker with seven, chipped in with 13 points for the Suns, while Royce O’Neale went for 12 and Collin Gillespie 10.

PHOENIX — LeBron James missed the first free throw that would have tied it. Then, bailed out by a foul with 3.9 seconds remaining, he missed the second. A long-awaited swish finally quieted a restless Phoenix crowd.

The Lakers squandered a 20-point, fourth-quarter lead and survived only after the Suns’ Devin Booker fouled James on a three-pointer with 3.9 seconds left, pulling out a 116-114 win on Sunday.

Luka Doncic led the Lakers with 29 points, James added 26 and Deandre Ayton had 20 points and 13 rebounds against his old team. Playing without Austin Reaves (calf strain), the Lakers attempted 43 free throws in a testy game that featured five technical fouls and one late ejection.

Dillon Brooks hit the go-ahead three-pointer with 12.2 seconds left to complete the Suns’ comeback, but he was ejected after he bumped chests with James and got his second technical foul. Brooks received a technical in the first quarter and James drew a technical in the third after a perceived slight from Brooks, who slapped a loose ball toward James during a pause in the action.

Brooks had 18 points and missed most of the third quarter after picking up his fifth foul.

The Lakers finished that quarter on a 15-0 run, largely off hustle plays from Jake LaRavia. The forward who has averaged 5.1 points in the last 10 games, including two scoreless outings, played more than eight minutes in the first half and had nothing to show for it besides two missed shots and a foul. He made just one shot in the third quarter and watched an easy layup roll around the rim and pop out. But he made an impact on defense with two steals, a block and four rebounds in the quarter.

His defense led to the offensive highlight of the third as he stole a pass and shoveled the ball to Jaxson Hayes in transition. The 7-foot center cocked the ball behind his head on a violent, two-handed dunk over Oso Ighodaro and finished the three-point play from the free-throw line.

Hayes had 12 points and nine rebounds off the bench. After getting just five bench points from anyone not named Marcus Smart in losing their last game to the San Antonio Spurs, the Lakers (18-7) got a balanced 30-point lift from their reserves, including seven from Jarred Vanderbilt, who played his first significant minutes in a month.

Vanderbilt had been relegated to the bench since the return of James, but brought a much-needed lift Sunday as the team hoped to rediscover its defensive mentality. The forward was active on defense, had seven rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench and even hit a three-pointer.

But the Lakers fell out of their rhythm when that second unit went to the bench in the fourth quarter. With their starting five in for the final three minutes, the Lakers let a 111-97 lead evaporate as they missed shots, gave up threes and committed fouls and turnovers.

Perhaps Jarred Vanderbilt and his ability to defend can help the Lakers and their reeling defense.

Perhaps Vanderbilt can return to the rotation to help the Lakers’ defensive woes while guard Austin Reaves is out for approximately a week because of a mild left calf strain.

And perhaps Vanderbilt and the Lakers can get some immediate results for shoring up their defensive shortcomings when they face the Suns in Phoenix on Sunday afternoon.

The 6-foot-8 Vanderbilt is hopeful that his opportunity will come against the Suns and he turns that into a positive for the Lakers.

“Oh, yeah, I’m pretty eager,” he said after practice Saturday. “I mean, obviously, I think a lot of the stuff we lack, I think I can help provide on that end.”

In the last 10 games, Vanderbilt had only a three-minute stint against the Philadelphia 76ers because Jake LaRavia took a shot to the face that loosened a tooth.

The return of LeBron James and Vanderbilt’s offensive deficiencies left him out of the rotation. During much of that time the Lakers were winning, which meant Vanderbilt spent time on the bench.

In 15 games, Vanderbilt is three for 10 (26.6%) from three-point range. He was asked how he has been handling things.

“Good,” Vanderbilt said. “Controlling what I can control. Keep showing up to work, doing my part, supporting the team.”

Vanderbilt was asked if coach JJ Redick or any assistants have spoken to him about his role.

“Kind of here and there, I guess,” Vanderbilt said.

Vanderbilt was seen after practice Saturday working with an assistant coach on his shooting, just like he did after practice Friday and like he has done while not playing.

Redick said Reaves, who played against the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night, wasn’t sure when the calf became an issue, and “we’re obviously gonna be cautious with it.”

“It’s a mild strain, Grade 1, and he’ll be out for a week,” Redick said, adding, “I would venture to say every player is a little bit different, but players now are becoming more cautious — to use that word again — more cautious when they get those diagnosis with the calf. Everything looks clean. It’s not in the deep part.”

The Lakers have looked at the last 10 games during the film sessions as a barometer for their defensive problems. But in reality, the Lakers have not been very good on defense all season while producing a 17-7 record because of their stellar offense.

“It’s been a trending thing even when we was winning, so I think like you said, the defense still wasn’t there, but we was just outscoring everybody,” Vanderbilt said. “So, I think obviously during the loss, it’s an appropriate time to address certain things just so it won’t keep lingering and get worse.”

The Lakers are 18th in the NBA in points given up (116.8), 22nd in opponents’ field-goal percentage (48.1%) and 27th in opponents’ three-point shooting (38.2%).

They will face a Suns team that defeated them Dec. 1 at Crypto.com Arena. The Lakers were unable to stop Collin Gillesipie, who had 28 points and was eight for 14 from three-point range, and Dillon Brooks, who had 33 points.

It hasn’t gotten better in the ensuing days. The Spurs loss was the Lakers’ third in the last five games.

“Nobody likes to go watch film after you get your ass kicked,” guard Marcus Smart said. “It’s tough because the film never lies. And it exposed us a lot, which we already knew. We were just winning a lot of games. So it was mitigated that way, but it was straight to it: We have to be able to guard.

“The scouting report against us is we’re not guarding people. And if we want to be great in this league and do what we’re trying to do, you have to be able to guard, especially in the West. These guys are no joke, and they’re coming. And especially [if] you got the Lakers across your jersey. They’re definitely coming with everything they have. So you can’t be expecting any surprises. And that’s what it was. It wasn’t no sugarcoating anything. It was, ‘This is what we got to do.’ We’ve been asked. Let’s fix it.”