Lakers were routed in Game 5 and LeBron’s reaction was very NSFW

LeBron James didn’t hold back with his words after the Los Angeles Lakers were routed by the Phoenix Suns to fall down 3-1 in the series.

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers are one loss away from becoming the sixth defending champion to lose in the first round of the playoffs after falling to the Phoenix Suns in Game 5 on Tuesday night.

The game was over early for LeBron and the Lakers who trailed 66-36 at halftime and lost 115-85 and need to win the next two games in the series to avoid elimination.

Playing without Anthony Davis who is doubtful to return for Game 6 from his groin injury meant LeBron had little help and it showed on the scoreboard.

LeBron sounded pretty defeated after the loss and his matter-of-fact response to the blowout doesn’t sound like he’s optimistic about overcoming the 3-2 deficit.

“We got our ass kicked. It’s just that simple,” James said. “They got to whatever they wanted to get to in this game. We got to be better, obviously, if we want to force a Game 7.”

LeBron James sounds like the Lakers are done after Game 5 loss to Suns

LeBron had 24 points on 9-for-19 shooting (6-for-10 from 3), including 17 in the third quarter when the Lakers desperately tried to get back in the game, and seven assists. He along with the rest of the Lakers starters didn’t play in the fourth quarter of the lopsided loss that may be the penultimate nail in their coffin this season.

“What was going through my mind was, ‘They’re kicking our ass,'” James said when asked what he and Davis were thinking in the closing seconds of the game. “But at the end of the day, it’s one game. It’s one game, and they did what they were supposed to do. They held serve at home, and we go back and we have an opportunity to even the series back out again. That was really the two things that were going on in my mind.”

It would be foolish to count out LeBron from coming back from this ugly loss to find a way to win Game 6, with or without Davis. LeBron has famously been excellent after a postseason loss, and you can expect the Suns to come out in Game 6 with the mindset that it’s a win-or-go-home situation for them.

The last thing they want is to see this series go to a Game 7 and give Davis a couple of extra days to recover from his groin injury and make a potential return in an elimination game.

That said, the Suns have clearly been the better team in this series and if Davis can’t return, nothing short of peak LeBron will be enough to keep the defending champions alive.