LOS ANGELES -- With real stakes on the line for the Lakers in the NBA Cup quarterfinals -- a $530,000 cash prize per player and a second Cup championship in three years for the franchise hinging on the result -- L.A. was thoroughly outplayed in a 132-119 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday.

The Spurs exposed the Lakers' already suspect perimeter defense, which ranked in the bottom five in the league in opponents' 3-point percentage (38.2%), by hitting 17-of-38 from the outside (44.7%) and leading by as many as 24 points in the elimination game for the in-season tournament.

When the Spurs weren't launching from beyond the arc, their guards were penetrating into the paint, compromising L.A.'s interior defense so much the Lakers often had no choice but to foul. San Antonio went 2

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