The Suns had beaten the Lakers in two of their three meetings this season, often being the more physical and aggressive team, but a lot of their key players were out in this game. That didn’t matter, however, as the Suns continued to have their way with the Lakers, beating them 113-110 in the final seconds.

Coming off a rough shooting night, Luka Doncic got off to a nice start in this one by making his first two shots. Outside of that though, the Lakers were struggling offensively early with the Suns jumping out to a 17-9 lead.

L.A. had a quick response with a 12-0 run to take their first lead. Doncic had five more points during that span while LeBron James also got going offensively.

Luke Kennard came in and made an immediate impact, including finishing a layup after a slick behind-the-back pass from James, to give the Lakers a 27-22 lead at the end of the first.

Phoenix got hot from deep to begin the second quarter, regaining the lead and forcing a Lakers timeout. Things started to spiral for the Lakers as they had some silly turnovers, leading to back-to-back triples by the Suns to go up by 10.

Again though, the Lakers responded with a run of their own. Jake LaRavia got it started with a 3-pointer and then Doncic and Reaves each hit one as well. The Suns beat the halftime buzzer to end the run, tying the game at 49.

The Lakers picked up where they left off to begin the third quarter, scoring 11 straight points with Doncic and James leading the charge. Doncic found Deandre Ayton for an alley-oop, giving the big man his first bucket of the night and forcing a Suns timeout with L.A.’s lead reaching double digits.

Similar to what happened in the first half, the Lakers let go of the rope from there. They had some more silly turnovers and Grayson Allen made them pay with back-to-back 3s. Allen then hit another one out of a Lakers timeout and the game wound up being tied at 80 at the end of the third.

Ayton committed a costly Flagrant 1 foul on a reckless closeout, allowing the Suns to jump back in front after a six-point possession that started an 11-0 run.

Marcus Smart tried to bring the Lakers back with a triple and three-point play, but there was still a lot more work to be done. Doncic picked it up from three with a pair of 3s of his own, and all of a sudden it was a two-point game.

The Lakers needed to get a stop and got lucky with Allen missing an open triple. Reaves then responded with a 3 and the game was tied with 22 seconds to go.

Phoenix had the ball with the shot clock off, running it all the way down to get the final shot and Royce O’Neale drilled a triple for the win.

What’s next for the Lakers…

The Lakers will wrap up their quick two-game road trip on Saturday evening against the Golden State Warriors before returning home and hosting the Sacramento Kings on Sunday.

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Both of these teams have failed to meet expectations this season in a way, but the Magic kept fighting all night and came away with a 110-109 victory over the Lakers.

LeBron James got off to a great start in this one as he had 10 early points, including a pair of 3-pointers. After a three-point play by Luka Doncic, the Lakers took a 17-10 lead.

Doncic got hit in the face by Moe Wagner and appeared to be in some pain but was eventually able to stay in the game. In true Luka fashion, he fired up a triple on the next possession and made it. Doncic joined James in double figures in the first quarter as the Lakers led 33-25.

Wendell Carter Jr. was the only Magic player that could get anything going offensively as he tried to keep the game from getting out of reach early. Tristan da Silva gave him some help with back-to-back 3s, but Deandre Ayton got going inside with five straight points for the Lakers to answer.

Both teams were sloppy to end the first half as the scoring came to a halt with the Lakers taking a 56-53 lead into the halftime locker room.

After a rare scoreless first half, Austin Reaves led a 9-0 run to begin the third quarter, scoring seven points and throwing a lob to James.

The Lakers’ offense got stagnant from there, however, missing the opportunity to continue extending the lead. Paolo Banchero finally got going for Orlando with a 17-point third quarter, getting their double-digit deficit back to a manageable margin at 80-79 going into the fourth.

The Magic opened up the first quarter with back-to-back buckets, regaining the lead for the first time in a while. With things starting to slip away for the Lakers, Reaves hit a big triple and then had a three-point play to tie it up once again.

With both teams continuing to exchange buckets, the game was tied at 98 with around five minutes to play.

Doncic did not have a good shooting night, but he hit back-to-back jumpers down the stretch for L.A. He then found Rui Hachimura for a 3 to go back ahead, although Banchero responded with an and-one.

With the Lakers up two in the final minute, Desmond Bane drilled a triple to put Orlando back in front.

After a timeout, Doncic found a cutting James for a dunk. The Magic had one more look, and Carter had a putback after a missed shot by Banchero.

That put Orlando up by one with 6.7 seconds to play, and James missed a fadeaway at the buzzer to secure the victory for the Magic.

What’s next for the Lakers…

The Lakers will now hit the road for division matchups with the Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors on Thursday and Saturday, respectively, before returning home and hosting the Sacramento Kings on Sunday.

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The best way to honor Riley though would be by beating the rival Boston Celtics, and they had a chance to do exactly that. Unfortunately though, the Celtics were the more aggressive team and were able to leave Los Angeles with a 111-89 victory.

LeBron James was looking spry early as he had the first four points of the game to get the Lakers off to a quick start. The Celtics were hot from deep early, but Luka Doncic also hit a pair of his own to match them.

Offense slowed down to end the first quarter as both teams were playing sloppy. Austin Reaves drew a foul to beat the buzzer, tying the game at 28 going into the second.

Jarred Vanderbilt was playing hard to start the second quarter, drawing a charge and then hitting a 3-pointer to regain the lead.

The Lakers were frustrated with the officiating as Reaves and Marcus Smart both picked up technicals after the latter was called for a foul despite being elbowed in the face by Jaylen Brown. That led to a 7-0 run by the Celtics before Doncic scored to end it.

Much like the end of the first, the second quarter was a rock fight with the officials letting them play super physical. The Lakers weren’t really able to adjust to that and the Celtics took a 60-50 lead into the halftime locker room as a result.

After finally getting fully healthy for the first time all season, the Lakers ruled out Jaxson Hayes at halftime with a right ankle issue, putting them down a big man.

Not much changed in the third quarter as the Celtics kept up their physicality and the Lakers continued to struggle offensively. Boston also struggled for most of the quarter until Pritchard and Brown got hot late to give them an 84-71 lead going into the fourth.

The Lakers started to get something going offensively as back-to-back layups by James and Rui Hachimura got their deficit back to single digits. The comeback attempt was short-lived, however, as the Celtics immediately responded and the Lakers struggled to get open shots to go. Boston eventually built its lead back up, cruising to an easy win.

What’s next for the Lakers…

The Lakers will be back in action on Tuesday night when they host the Orlando Magic before going on the road for division matchups with the Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors.

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This was really the first time the Lakers have been fully healthy all season as LeBron James was able to play despite dealing with some knee soreness. As a result, the Lakers were able come away with a 125-122 win over the Clippers. This was the final of four matchups between the two L.A. teams this season with each team winning their two home games.

Brook Lopez got the Clippers off to a hot start with their first seven points, although Austin Reaves responded with the first seven for the Lakers as well.

James then got going with a transition layup, fadeaway midrange and then a triple to give his team their first lead. Luka Doncic also started to pick it up, hitting a pair of deep 3-pointers and then finding Jaxson Hayes for a lob.

The Lakers had a strong close to the first quarter with Doncic hitting another pair of 3s and then Luke Kennard and Jake LaRavia both connecting as well to give them a 41-30 lead.

James took a hard elbow to the ribs early in the second quarter, which was upgraded to a Flagrant 1 foul. Before the Lakers could extend their lead though, Kawhi Leonard had six straight points to keep it within striking distance.

Leonard continued to do whatever he wanted offensively, but Doncic also returned to the game and picked up where he left off in the first quarter. The two superstars were going back and forth for a while, and the Lakers took a 72-65 lead into the halftime locker room.

The Lakers came out strong in the third quarter to quickly build their lead back up to 15, although that was met with a 20-3 Clippers run to regain the lead.

With the Lakers pressing a bit, Doncic hit another 3 to settle them back in, and then Kennard drove for a layup.

Bennedict Mathurin was in attack mode for the Clippers and finished a pair of three-point plays, but Reaves led a nice spurt to end the third quarter, giving the Lakers a 99-95 lead.

It wasn’t a great start to the fourth for the Lakers as they struggled to keep the Clippers off the free throw line. Lopez then hit a corner triple to take the lead back for his team.

After not taking a single shot all night, Marcus Smart drilled back-to-back jumpers to help out a struggling Lakers offense. Doncic then had a steal and a 3, getting back on track after a cold stretch.

Late in the fourth, Leonard was ruled out due to left ankle soreness and Mathurin fouled out. That took the wind out of the Clippers’ sails as the Lakers went on to close out the victory.

What’s next for the Lakers…

The Lakers will be back on the court on Sunday afternoon when they host the rival Boston Celtics at 3:30 p.m. PT on NBC and Peacock.

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The NBA decided to switch the format of this year’s All-Star Game, splitting the players into three teams, two USA and one World, to compete in a tournament. Doncic, of course, was on the World Team, while James was on the USA Stripes Team. Both of the Lakers’ stars have dealt with recent injuries, however, so they played limited minutes in the game.

Doncic’s World Team faced off with the USA Stars Team in the first quarter and the Lakers star played five minutes with two points and two assists before being subbed out. That was his only action for the day, and he came out of it injury-free.

The first game wound up going to overtime with both teams tied at 32. The first team to score five points in the overtime period would win, and ultimately the Stars Team completed the comeback victory on a triple by Scottie Barnes.

James’ Stripes Team took on the USA Stars in the second game and he got things started with an assist to Kevin Durant from a triple and then a 3-pointer of his own. In five minutes to begin the game, James had five points, one rebound and one assist.

The energy and competitiveness was much better throughout compared to recent years. The second game came down to the wire, and De’Aaron Fox hit a triple at the buzzer to give the victory to the Stripes Team. James helped set up the final bucket after hitting his second 3-pointer, finishing with eight points.

James and Doncic’s teams squared off in the third quarter, although the latter was already done for the night.

In that game, Kawhi Leonard absolutely took over with 31 points for the Stripes team. He hit the game-winner, and James finished two points, two rebounds and four assists. LeBron’s bucket was a big one as he had a putback dunk to give his team the lead in the final minute.

The final matchup was the two USA teams once again.

Considering the Stripes Team had just played two games in a row, the Stars Team was well-rested and came out hot to take an early lead.

James did his part with five straight points to try to get his team back in it, but the Stars continued to pour it on for the easy victory.

Even though the Stripes and Stars played two games and split them, the Stars won the final one to take home the victory. Anthony Edwards was named MVP and awarded the Kobe Bryant trophy.

What’s next for the Lakers…

The Lakers will now get some much-needed time off for the All-Star break before returning to the court on Friday against the L.A. Clippers at Crypto.com Arena.

Going into the break, the Lakers are tied for fifth in the Western Conference at 33-21 and are looking to make a run with their roster finally getting healthy.

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