Sunday night represented one of the final nails in the coffin of this Phoenix Suns season that fans wish would just end, as they dropped yet another game. This time it was to a Los Angeles Lakers team missing LeBron James, and who had to rely heavily on Luka Doncic to get them over the hump.
There was no hiding place either - as with the game on national television - fans got to see just how underwhelming this group can be when their backs are against the wall. Doncic scored more than 30 points against the Suns for the seventh game in a row, while Ryan Dunn and Bradley Beal - who left with a hamstring issue midway through - were the only ones who had moments of really playing hard.
Former Sun Jordan Goodwin came back to haunt the franchise.
Point guard Goodwin has found a home for himself in Los Angeles, having been let go by the Suns last season. He started this game - and although that's not going to be the case come the playoffs - the fact the Lakers coaching staff and their star players trust him as much as they do is a sign of how highly they value what he does.
Goodwin is an excellent defender relative to the likes of Tyus Jones in Phoenix - who effectively replaced him in the offseason - while the blistering 43.8 percent he is shooting from deep is easily a career high. That number might not hold true come the postseason, but it almost doesn't need to. Goodwin is not only found money for the Lakers, he's money that the Suns just threw away.
Which made his play in the final minute of the game - when the Suns were giving it one last, half-hearted attempted at a comeback - the moment that really put this one on ice. It wasn't even a key bucket or pass either. Instead, Goodwin came up with a key offensive rebound off an Austin Reaves miss that was batted back to Doncic. He also missed, with Dorian Finney-Smith finally converting.
It led to Lakers' head coach JJ Redick having some very positive things to say about Goodwin after the game, and they revolved around the very things that the Suns are lacking right now. Goodwin finished with only two points while racking up four fouls, but his energy and effort on both ends of the court were a constant source of joy for his team.
Contrast that with Phoenix, who had Kevin Durant appearing to get into it with his own head coach in Mike Budenholzer is the first-quarter during a timeout, before floating in and out of the game. Booker had some nice moments, but in truth he was outshone by Reaves. Make no mistake - this was a Doncic masterclass - but Goodwin filled in his role perfectly.
It almost feels like a cruel joke that - when the Suns really needed a win to give their play-in dreams a much needed boost - it was a hustle play from somebody they just gave away that was the hammer blow in a nationally televised game. There mediocre play in the game led to that moment, but Jordan Goodwin got his revenge and in doing so looked like the exact player this team really needs right now.