The
Los Angeles Lakers traveled to Arizona to face the
Phoenix Suns, in a Sunday afternoon showdown between two teams loaded with legends. The Lakers seemed to have found their form, winning 7 of the last 9 games. But Phoenix offense was clicking and 6 players ended up in double digits, four of them with 20+ points. Great win to restore confidence, Phoenix 123-113.
For the first three games of this season between these two teams, LeBron and the Lakers didn't had much trouble and won them with relative ease, but Phoenix squad was never complete during that stretch of games. In their last matchup, Phoenix came to play with a complete roster and changed the narrative defeating LA.
Today, the Suns weren't able to count on Bradley Beal or Eric Gordon, but that wasn't a problem at all. Phoenix scored 45 points in the first quarter.
In the second, the Lakers were able to come closer in the scoreboard, thanks to D'Angelo Russell. DLo finished the game with 20 points and 7 rebounds, sadly, he vanished on the second half.
The third quarter saw both teams with poor executions on both ends of the floor, although the Lakers improved their defense at the last minutes and were able to position themselves only 5 points behind.
Anthony Davis and
LeBron James were the factors for LA, AD with important offensive rebounds and James providing much needed scoring.
With the Lakers and the Suns neck-to-neck, Phoenix made some adjustments on the defensive end and were able to increase the gap thanks to the important scoring of Grayson Allen and
Royce O'Neale. Allen finished up with 24 points, he was the scoring leader of his team. O'Neale has been a great pick up for the Suns at the trade deadline, recording in tonight's game 20 points and 10 rebounds, including 6 three-pointers.
Kevin Durant finished with 22 points and 7 assists. Devin Booker collaborated with 21 points. Special mention to Jusuf Nurkic, who was a monster today 18 points, 22 rebounds and 7 assists.
Anthony Davis recorded 22 points and 14 rebounds, despite having a quiet first half. LeBron finished with 28 points and 12 assists.
LA's defensive intensity wasn't there when they needed it the most, slow in transition and weak on the boards.
The Lakers will rest until wednesday, when they'll be seeing Paul George, Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers. Phoenix will be playing against the Houston Rockets, on Thursday night.