LeBron James, Lakers' Effort Ripped by NBA Fans After Blowout Loss to Durant, Suns

It's safe to say the Los Angeles Lakers are going to be an inconsistent team all season after dropping their third straight game in a 127-100 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night.

The Lakers were outscored 65-40 in the second half, with the Suns shooting 51.5 percent overall. Kevin Durant, playing his first game since Nov. 8, scored 23 points on 9-of-17 shooting in 30 minutes.

Anthony Davis did his part to help the Lakers' efforts. He finished with 25 points, 15 rebounds, five assists and four blocks. LeBron James scored an inefficient 18 points on 7-of-16 shooting and committed five turnovers, but he also dished out 10 assists.

The Lakers have lost their last two games by a combined 52 points. Fan response to Tuesday's defeat was focused primarily on the effort of the entire team and continued organizational failings to put a better roster around James and Davis.

In 17 games so far this season, the Lakers have had winning streaks of six and three games, a losing streak of three games and a stretch with four losses in five games. When you add it all together, they are still a respectable 10-7 overall.

But it's hard to look at how they've played and envision this team challenging for a top spot in the Western Conference. They have the fourth-worst defensive rating in the NBA and a minus-2.1 net rating.

One big problem the Lakers are having is maintaining a high level of performance for all four quarters. They've been outscored in the second half in each of their last four games. They have the seventh-worst second-half scoring margin this season with opponents outscoring them by an average of 3.3 points.

By comparison, the Lakers are 12th with a plus-1.2 average scoring margin in the first half of games.

On top of trying to figure out how they can be better at playing a full game, Tuesday also marked the Lakers' first-ever loss in an NBA Cup game. They were 8-0 overall before losing to the Suns.

The Lakers dropped to third place in West Group B, behind the Suns and San Antonio Spurs. Their minus-16 scoring margin is fourth out of five teams in the group, ahead of only the Utah Jazz (minus-27).

There is still hope for the Lakers to advance to the knockout stage, but they will need some help because the Suns and Spurs are also 2-1. Their next group game will be on Friday at Crypto.com Arena against the Oklahoma City Thunder (1-1 in group play).