The Los Angeles Lakers fell to the Phoenix Suns 92-86 to break their three-game winning trend, despite leading by 13 points with just under nine minutes to go in the fourth quarter, and the Lakers watched as Dwight Howard's shoulder turned on him again just a few minutes later.
Los Angeles struggled all game long with ball security, racking up 19 turnovers over the course of the game, returning the favor to the tune of just 11 turnovers by Phoenix.
They shot poorly, just over 42 percent from the floor and under 30 percent from the three-point line. That was mostly thanks to a rough night from Metta World Peace, a rare inefficient night from Steve Nash, and Kobe's poor shooting down the stretch.
While they did break their winning streak, they did see another streak continue as they've racked up the road woes seemingly by the gross over the season.
What's bad about this loss being their eighth straight loss on the road is that this wasn't just a stopover in Phoenix before going on a short little road trip. This game was the first of a seven-game road trip that will keep the Lakers on the road until mid-February.
To make things even worse, Dwight Howard's shoulder knocked him out of the game with just over six minutes to go in the fourth.
The fourth-quarter collapse was already under way when Howard was injured, but it jumped into overdrive with Howard out of the game.
It seems like the most obvious thought a logical person can have, but the Lakers desperately need Howard when things start to fall apart. He's there to grab rebounds, and as the team's best defensive player, he's capable of stopping a run with a single play.
Howard has left a game with a shoulder injury three times this season, once against the Clippers when he initially tore his labrum, keeping him out for a few games, and then a week ago against the Memphis Grizzlies, which kept him out for the second half.
If this injury turns out to be recurring, and keeps aggrivating Howard, it could end up seriously affecting the Lakers.
Although it seems that for now, he's going to be day-to-day until something more serious happens surrounding his shoulder.
While we can prattle on about Howard having a down year, it's impossible to argue that he's not wildly important for the Lakers.
His defense speaks for itself, but his offense is just as important to the team as any other player. Howard gives them another weapon and another guy to make shots when Kobe gets the passing bug.
The best way to keep the passing bug in Kobe, and keep as many players involved in the offense as possible, is to keep him confident in the rest of his team, which he obviously wasn't down the stretch against the Suns.
An injured Howard definitely deals a blow to Los Angeles' chances of re-surging and making the playoffs, and if it keeps popping up like this, which is looking increasingly likely, then they're going to be in for a rough final few months of the season.
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