Los Angeles Lakers eliminated from playoff contention with loss to Phoenix Suns, win by San Antonio Spurs

PHOENIX — A season that started with championship promise for the Los Angeles Lakers ended with the pain of failing to even qualify for the play-in tournament.

Tuesday's 121-110 loss to the Phoenix Suns — coupled with a 116-97 win by the San Antonio Spurs over the Denver Nuggets — officially eliminated L.A. from play-in contention with three games remaining in the regular season.

Phoenix blew the game open with a 35-22 third quarter and the Lakers limped to the finish line from there. The Suns' Devin Booker (32 points on 12-for-22 shooting) and Jae Crowder let their opponent's bench hear it, relishing the chance to bury the Lakers after Anthony Davis suggested last month that Phoenix's 2021 playoff win over L.A. was a fluke.

Ultimately, it was just another rough night for the Lakers in a season that their fans would just as soon forget.

Injuries sabotaged the season, with L.A.'s new-look Big Three of LeBron James, Davis and Russell Westbrook combining to play just 21 games through Tuesday. The Lakers went 11-10 in those games — hardly dominant, but certainly not cellar-dwellers, either.

Injuries played a factor again on Tuesday, with James sitting out for the fourth time in the past five games with soreness in his left ankle. It was his 23rd missed game of the season. Joining James on the visitor's bench at Footprint Center in street clothes was Kendrick Nunn, missing his 79th game of the season because of a bone bruise in his right knee yet, curiously, still not simply ruled out for the season by the Lakers.

Even Davis, who was on the court playing in his third game back after a six-week absence because of a right mid-foot sprain, was also dealing with plantar fascia in his right foot that's afflicted him since his