The Lakers suffered a heartbreak at the final second of their loss tonight against the Suns in a nail-biting game that went down to the wire. After choking a 13-point lead in the third quarter and bouncing back from a subsequent 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter, the Lakers managed to tie the game in the final minute.
But unfortunately, Royce O’Neale hit a dagger three-point shot with 0.9 seconds left on the clock for the Suns to take the 113-110 lead. As a result, the Lakers called a timeout to draw up a look for Austin Reaves to catch and shoot.
ROYCE O’NEALE CALLS GAME ON THE LAKERS 🤯🥶
Spoiled Luka’s 41-pt game… pic.twitter.com/PDQY2uM5KN
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 27, 2026
Reaves managed to get a clean look for the final shot. But the ball hit the rim and bounced out at the buzzer as the Lakers lost against the short-handed Suns, who were without Devin Booker and Dillon Brooks available tonight.
AUSTIN REAVES FOR THE TIE 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/amVcPoBKaq
— BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) February 27, 2026
Following the game, JJ Redick spoke to the media and addressed various facets of what led to the loss for the Lakers. After addressing the three-point woes tonight and the unlucky miss on the final shot, Redick spoke in depth about adversity and the additional burden of being on the Lakers.
“Our losses are louder than other teams because we’re the Lakers and because of the way we lose. You get this deep in the season, again, tonight was a one-possession clutch game; we’ve lost a few of those. But we’ve been great for the most part in the clutch all year. Our losses are louder,” said the Lakers’ head coach.
“I would say we definitely had some adversity tonight; did we not respond? You’re not going to avoid adversity,” Redick responded as the reporter asked him about dealing with adversity and back-breaking plays in the clutch moments of the game.
“I thought our guys were great with that. Basketball is a game of mistakes. We made mistakes just like I make mistakes; I don’t think Jordan Ott coached a perfect game. I don’t think Grayson Allen kicked our butt, he was 9-24 and I think that’s the game and I think our guys responded tonight.”
The three-point and free-throw differential between the two teams speaks volumes about the type of offense that was working for both teams. The Lakers were 11-29 from beyond the arc (37.9 3P%) as a team, while the Suns went 22-50 (44.0 3P%).
But the team in purple and gold went to the line a lot more often. They were 23-26 from the line (88.5 FT%) while the Suns made only 11 free throws in nearly half as many attempts (11-14, 78.6 FT%).
Despite such a big differential in two major offensive avenues, the game still came down to being within one possession, which is a normal circumstance for any basketball team. Yet Redick seemingly highlighted that just because it is the Lakers, they are scrutinized much more than other teams.
While it may be true that the media examines the Lakers differently from the other teams, this was not just another insignificant loss for them. They lost to the Suns, who are now only one game behind them in the Western Conference standings. The Lakers fell to 34-24 for the season, while the Suns are now 34-26.
This loss also signifies a three-game losing streak for the Lakers in the rare four-game stretch this season where all three of their star players: LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and Austin Reaves were healthy.
Redick credited a solid night from Luka Doncic, who had 41 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists tonight while shooting 12-21 from the field (57.1 FG%) and 6-11 from beyond the arc (54.5 3P%). But no one other than Doncic had over 20 points for the Lakers.
Before the All-Star break, the Lakers’ coaching staff and players blamed their health for not finding consistency. With all their star players healthy now, do you think the media’s scrutiny of them being inefficient when starting together has some substance? Let us know what you think in the comments section.
