After starting the new NBA season 3-0, the Los Angeles Lakers lost their first game of the year to the Phoenix Suns, 109-105, on Monday. Early on, it looked like they were on their way to a 4-0 start when they ran off to a 26-8 lead, but their offense became as dry as the Arizona desert, and their defense couldn’t pick up the slack.
They will get back to work on Wednesday against the Cleveland Cavaliers, which will mark LeBron James’ annual visit to his old stomping stomps.
Anthony Davis is off to a dominant start this season by averaging a league-high 32.8 points plus 12.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.5 blocked shots a game. After Monday’s game, he said the team is trying to not lose two games in a row this season.
AD: “We can’t have a 14-point quarter.”
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“Nobody in the history has went 82-0. We don’t expect to lose, but we’re realists and realistically we were probably gonna lose a game. Obviously we didn’t want to start off with the first loss on this trip, but I’m happy and I like the way the guys competed, we played extremely hard. We’ll bounce back against a Cleveland team, a 4-0 team, another team that’s playing extremely well. So we got to go win. We’re trying to not lose two in a row. That’s gonna be a challenge for us all year, never to lose two in a row.”
During the 2019-20 season, the Lakers had a goal to not lose two games in a row all year. They didn’t accomplish that goal, but they did accomplish their ultimate goal of winning the NBA championship.
That contest versus Phoenix on Monday was the first of a five-game road trip. When they return to Southern California, they will host the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday, Nov. 8.