Lakers blown out by Suns, drop back below .500

LOS ANGELES — So much for ending this phase of their homestand on a high note.

The Lakers’ 127-109 blowout loss to the Phoenix Suns on Thursday night was not only bad because they ended this five-game stretch at 2-3 and dropped back below .500 (19-20) for the season.

But they were not competitive for much of the game, in part because of off nights from stars LeBron James (10 points on 3-of-11 shooting, nine assists, five rebounds in 24 minutes) and Anthony Davis (13 points, five rebounds, two blocked shots in 32 minutes).

The Suns (20-18) made five of their first eight 3-point attempts, which helped spark them to a 36-25 lead at the end of the first quarter behind the hot start of Devin Booker (31 points, five assists, five rebounds – 16 first-quarter points).

The Lakers started the second quarter strong, trimming their deficit to six (40-34) after a Jarred Vanderbilt corner 3-pointer.

But that was the closest they got, with the Suns blitzing the Lakers before halftime to open a 66-52 lead at the intermission.

The Lakers trailed by at least double digits – including 32 late in the third – for the remainder of the game and fell to 5-11 since winning the NBA In-Season Tournament last month.

James and Davis didn’t play in the fourth, with Coach Darvin Ham starting the quarter with Jarred Vanderbilt, two-way guard Skylar Mays, who was making his Lakers debut, D’Angelo Russell (team-high 19 points, six assists), Max Christie and Jaxson Hayes – essentially waiving the metaphoric white flag.

Thursday was the fourth time the Lakers and Suns played in the regular season, with the Lakers winning the previous three, but it was the first time the Suns had their entire “Big Three” – Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal – available against the Lakers.

The Suns being more whole made a significant difference.

Beal, who finished with a season-high 37 points (eight 3-pointers) to go with six rebounds and four assists, scored 26 in the second half, including 20 in the third quarter to prevent the Lakers from making a run.

The Lakers committed 17 turnovers, which the Suns turned into 28 points.

It was also Frank Vogel’s first victory over his former team. Vogel coached the Lakers for three seasons, including 2020 when they won the NBA title in the Orlando bubble.

The Lakers face the Utah Jazz on Saturday in Salt Lake City before returning home for another six games in Los Angeles (one a “road game” against the Clippers), starting with hosting the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday.

More to come on this story.