That was surprising. And unexpected. And, it turns out, a Lakers loss.

Fresh off a 4-0 road trip, the Lakers returned home to lose to the San Antonio Spurs, 118-109, Thursday at Staples Center.

What You Need To Know

  • Coming off a 4-0 road trip, the Lakers returned home to an unexpected loss to the San Antonio Spurs Thursday

  • Spurs vets LaMarcus Aldridge, DeMar DeRozan, and Rudy Gay combined to put up 62 points in a 118-109 win

  • LeBron James finished with 27 points and 12 assists for the Lakers, Anthony Davis added 23 points and 10 rebounds

  • The Lakers have little time to recover before facing the Chicago Bulls on Friday night

The Spurs (4-4) were supposed to be in a rebuild year centered around a young backcourt, but a trio of veterans played well against the Lakers. LaMarcus Aldridge had 28 points, DeMar DeRozan added 19 and Rudy Gay threw in 15 off the bench.

The Lakers looked a little tired. The Spurs had a ton of open looks, many of them behind the three-point line, and cashed in on too many.

Maybe the Lakers were still recovering from eight days on the road. Or in the bigger picture, perhaps it was an unwanted remnant from a truncated off-season where the Lakers got only 71 days between Game 6 in the Finals and the Dec. 22 season opener.

At any rate, LeBron James tried to spark a rally with a 14-point outburst in the third quarter. But the Lakers scored only 20 as a team in the fourth quarter and the game was over.

Admittedly, a lot of the damage had already happened when the Lakers allowed 65 first-half points. The Spurs were strong from three-point range throughout the game and made 16 of 35 (46%).

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James finished with 27 points and 12 assists for the Lakers (6-3). Anthony Davis added 23 points and 10 rebounds

The Lakers don’t have much time to recover. They play Chicago on Friday, meaning the defense better be ready for the Bulls’ young, quick backcourt of Zach LaVine ad Coby White.