Lakers, LeBron hit rock bottom with loss to last-place Suns
A LeBron James-led NBA roster had never lost to a team as putrid as the Phoenix Suns this late into a campaign. That all changed Saturday night when his Los Angeles Lakers came out on the wrong end of a 118-109 result.
Despite entering the matchup with a league-worst 13-51 record, the 28th-ranked offense, and having just come off a 17-game losing skid, the Suns still managed to emerge victorious at Talking Stick Resort Arena.
Ranked by winning percentage through at least 25 games in a season, the Suns are now the worst team James has ever fallen to in a game he suited up for.
| Date | Team | Win Pct |
|---|---|---|
| March 2019 | Phoenix Suns | .190 |
| March 2011 | Cleveland Cavaliers | .194 |
| January 2009 | Washington Wizards | .194 |
(courtesy: ESPN Stats and Info)
The four-time league Most Valuable Player just missed out on his seventh triple-double of the campaign, finishing with a line of 27 points on 10-of-21 shooting. He added 16 assists and nine rebounds in 41 minutes of action. It's the seventh time this season James has eclipsed the 40-minute mark after doing so on 18 occasions in 2017-18 with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
"We needed this game for obvious reasons," said James, according to ESPN. "It is just unfortunate with the opportunities we've had that we haven't been able to seize the opportunity."
The loss was the Lakers' fourth in their last five games since returning from the All-Star break, dropping their record to 30-33. They're now 4.5 games back of the Los Angeles Clippers for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.