Phoenix Suns beat LA Lakers to officially end their playoff dreams at the Footprint Center with two regular-season games still to play.
With LeBron James out for the rest of the season, the Lakers rarely threatened the Western conference leaders as they fell to a 31-48 record with the 121-110 loss.
The Suns, meanwhile, set a new franchise record with the win. Their record now stands at 63-16 having clinched home-court advantage through the playoffs already.
The Phoenix Suns started the game a bit off their mark again, but Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton carried the team to a 63-58 lead at halftime, and then the rest of the guys helped blow the game open in the third quarter.
Devin Booker continued his case to be in the MVP conversation, dropping 32 points in 30 minutes while DeAndre Ayton continued his upward trajectory by dropping another double-double with 22 points and 13 rebounds in 27 minutes of action.
A hobbled Anthony Davis did his best to keep the Lakers in contention, dropping 21 points and 13 rebounds with Rusell Westbrook adding team-high 28 points.
The Lakers sorely missed LeBron who is averaging 30.3 points at the age of 37. It is the second time in his 4 year tenure in Los Angeles that his side has failed to make the playoffs.
The Lakers’ 48 losses are also the most by a Lebron team ever. Since preseason title favorites were first announced before the 1984-85 season, the top two teams have never failed to make the playoffs. The Lakers (no. 2 favorites) are the first team to do so.
Their 4-17 record since the All-Star Game did not help matters.
