Luka Doncic had an impressive 38 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Yet it didn’t hide the fact that he had 9 turnovers tonight. The Los Angeles Lakers’ seven-game winning streak ended in a 125-100 loss to the Phoenix Suns tonight. The second-best team in the West looked terrible today. LeBron James barely salvaged his double-digit streak, Doncic had airballs, Austin Reaves had a sudden slump, and the Lakers fans booed their team. Yet, the point guard took responsibility for it all. However, JJ Redick blames the other team.

The Lakers gave up an embarrassing 32 points in turnovers today. After the presser, Doncic admitted he had a big part in that. “That was my fault. I shouldn’t have nine turnovers in a game,” he said after the game.

Doncic further stated, “I feel like definitely it was different defense than other teams… it was kinda confusing.” More on why Phoenix had him confused later.

JJ Redick was asked if he felt Luka shouldered the blame or if Phoenix had him confused, too. Redick blamed the Lakers’ overall mistakes on the Suns outplaying them. “In terms of the scheme, they never went into any sort of blitz or shock or anything like that…”

While it was Dillon Brooks who ran the offense, Redick admitted it was Phoenix’s big man that bothered them the most. “Mark Williams did a great job of just being big,” he said. “He’s got the second-highest standing reach in the NBA. So, whether it was post-up, whether it was an off-ball thing, whether it was pick-and-roll, he just was in the middle of the paint the whole time.”

Williams was the guy the Lakers acquired in February from Charlotte before rescinding the deal. Today, he made the Lakers pay for that snub. Redick praised the overall defense by Phoenix and said, “That led to a lot of turnovers.”

So Redick is not going to fault his biggest star tonight. He won’t even get mad at LeBron James for apparently stat-padding. He just wants to drive home the point that the team is still underprepared.

The Suns serve confusion and reality to the Lakers

The Phoenix Suns arrived in Crypto.com Arena with an agenda. As Jordan Ott, the Suns HC, said, “Keep them off the free throw line. They get to the free-throw line at an incredible rate. Force them into tough twos…We got to do all the dirty things, all the little things.”

That was the strategy that effectively confused Luka and the Lakers. Even LeBron James referred to it as “disruptive defense.” The Lakers drew fewer fouls and had more rebounds. However, the Suns severely outsized them in assists, steals, and blocks.

JJ Redick felt he was in Space Jam (the Michael Jordan one, not LeBron’s) and likened the Suns to the Monstars that turned Jordan into a pretzel. He was the only one who said out loud what no one wanted to admit: “If you don’t play hard against that team, you’re gonna get exposed.”

They got exposed, alright. While Doncic puts up MVP numbers, he averages 4.0 turnovers per game. The reigning MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, averages half of that. That tends to put the Lakers in dicey situations.

Because it’s easy to win against stragglers like the Mavericks and Pelicans. The Suns probably reminded the Lakers they’re still unmatched against the team with the best defensive rating, OKC, if they couldn’t handle the ninth-ranked team on that list (the Lakers are 13th in defense).

The deeper they go into the midseason tournament, the likely the Lakers and OKC to face off. Redick may not be blaming Luka, but he knows that they still haven’t fixed their biggest flaw.