The Los Angeles Lakers saw their NBA Cup run crash to a halt on Wednesday night, undone by a sluggish start, defensive lapses and a scorching San Antonio side that outpaced them from the opening tip in a 132-119 loss at Crypto.com Arena.
For a Lakers team that had stormed unbeaten through group play and dropped only two of its previous twelve games, the night served as a reminder of how thin the margin is when opponents push the tempo and punish every mistake.
Luka Doncic delivered 35 points and eight assists in another offensive showcase, LeBron James battled for a 19-point, 15-rebound double-double, and Marcus Smart returned from injury to fire 26 points off the bench.
But none of it was enough to compensate for a series of breakdowns that let the Spurs seize control long before Los Angeles found its footing.
The tone was set midway through the opening quarter when the Lakers’ defensive rotations lagged and San Antonio began stringing together transition opportunities.
The Spurs closed the first quarter on a sharp burst and then opened the second with an 8-0 run, turning a tight contest into a 47-30 gap that left Los Angeles chasing shadows.
Even with James anchoring the glass and Doncic repeatedly attacking off high screens, the Lakers struggled to match the Spurs' speed and depth.
San Antonio won battles on second-chance points, beat L.A. down the floor and took full advantage of eleven Lakers turnovers.
By halftime, the Lakers trailed 70-58, a manageable margin in principle, but the flow of the game suggested otherwise.
The Spurs continued to pierce the interior and push pace off every rebound, exposing a Lakers defense that lacked its usual discipline in transition.
San Antonio’s surge was powered by rookie Stephon Castle, who followed a nine-game absence with his most assertive performance yet: 30 points on 10-of-14 shooting, 10 rebounds and six assists.
De’Aaron Fox added 20 points, while seven Spurs hit double figures as their depth overwhelmed Los Angeles’ rotations.
The Lakers fell behind by 22 early in the third, and although Los Angeles won stretches of the quarter behind Smart’s perimeter hot streak, the Spurs kept their edge.
A late Fox 3-pointer extended San Antonio’s cushion to 104-87 heading into the fourth.
Castle’s confidence, Fox’s control and San Antonio’s relentless tempo exposed cracks in a Lakers defense that had been one of their strengths throughout group play.
Los Angeles mounted its strongest push of the night midway through the fourth, engineering an 18-4 run that sliced the deficit to 122-114 after Austin Reaves converted a gritty three-point play.
Momentum swung, the arena roared back to life, and the Lakers finally found a rhythm that had been missing for three quarters.
But Castle hit the shot that extinguished the comeback – a deep wing 3 with 1:41 remaining that restored a 14-point gap and effectively sealed the result. The Lakers would get no closer.
“We had some good moments, but most of the game we were playing uphill,” James said afterward, echoing the team’s frustration with the slow start and lack of defensive sharpness.
The loss also spoiled a productive night for Reaves, who finished with 15 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, showing the all-around form the Lakers have leaned on throughout the early season.
The defeat denies the Lakers a return trip to the semifinal stage of the NBA Cup and sends them back to their regular-season schedule with a Sunday visit to Phoenix.
The team remains confident – healthier with Smart back, productive with Doncic in mid-season form, and anchored by James’ consistency – but Wednesday’s loss underscored the lingering need for crisper defensive rotations and stronger early-game execution, especially against transition-heavy offenses.
The Spurs’ win sets up a semifinal showdown with the record-chasing Oklahoma City Thunder, who hammered Phoenix 138-89 earlier in the night to notch their 16th straight win and tie the best 24-1 start in league history.
