Lakers vs. Suns Final Score: Lakers lose first ever NBA Cup game

It took two seasons and nearly ten games, but the Lakers finally dropped their first NBA Cup game on Tuesday after being dominated by the Suns, 127-100.

In a story that mirrored their performance against the Nuggets, the Lakers followed a solid first half with an abysmal third quarter. Phoenix outscored the purple and gold 36-18 in the third period to take control of the game.

Anthony Davis dominated with 25 points, 15 rebounds, five assists, one steal and four blocks. Austin Reaves chipped in with 15 points on 6-12 shooting.

LeBron James scored 18 points with 10 assists and eight rebounds. Rui Hachimura had seven point. D’Angelo Russell finished with 16 points off the bench.

Both teams got off to a fiery start, pun intended, trading baskets back and forth. AD and LeBron carried the offensive load for the Lakers. AD was perfect from the field early, converting on all his layups and a dunk. LeBron didn’t just make shots, but dished up money, including a nice pass to Rui for a dunk.

Bradley Beal, back from injury, drilled a pair of wide-open 3-pointers for the Suns. Phoenix was up two with two minutes left in the quarter. Devin Booker also started to heat up with two straight mid-range shots.

Minus AD, neither team put in much effort defensively. At the end of the first, the Suns were up 31-25.

The Lakers got within three to start the second quarter. Both teams still didn’t play much defense. The Suns were a step above LA offensively and kept them ahead. Despite starting the quarter shaky offensively, the Lakers managed to stay within single digits.

Los Angeles struggled mightily to guard the perimeter, which led to the Suns draining a lot of wide-open shots. Kevin Durant was automatic and already connected on two 3-pointers. The sun was up at eight.

Austin went on an 8-0 run of its own and the game was tied. The Lakers found themselves up one after an and-1 by AD.

The half ended with two big plays, one with Suns rookie Ryan Dunn tipping in a shot and Austin hitting a middy for LA. Phoenix led by two at halftime.

Austin picked up where he left off in the second quarter by drilling a 3-pointer to start the second half. After a dismal first half, Jusuf Nurkić scored 10 points for the Suns in the third quarter, and as a result, the Lakers were down by six.

The energy had gone down for Los Angeles. Their shots weren’t falling and their defense was atrocious. The Suns went up by 11, forcing a timeout. A three by KD only added to their momentum.

Phoenix was on a 19-4 run, LA was down 17 and staring their first NBA Cup loss in the face. A three by Dalton Knecht stopped some bleeding very briefly. There was nothing positive to say about the end of the third for the Lakers as the Suns were up 20.

A three by Beal opened the final frame. The Lakers pulled away from the 3-point line, but fell short at a fast pace. The energy and effort were non-existent, which eventually led to JJ Redick pulling the starters ahead of a back-to-back Wednesday.

Key takeaways:

This team can’t just rely on AD and LeBron to win them. It’s a team effort. Wake up.

It’s the second season in a row that the Lakers have badly needed Jarred Vanderbilt’s defense while he’s out with an injury. Who will move up? Someone needs to step up their defenses. Again, it’s a team effort.

We’ve seen the Lakers do this far too often: They’ll have a bad turnover and then start hoisting ridiculous 3-pointers while the opposing team cooks them up for a crisp. Where is the logic in that?

The Lakers’ next game will be Wednesday vs San Antonio Spurs at 5 p.m. PT.

You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.