Game summary: The Suns were crushed by the Lakers on the goal line, losing 122-111

You don’t want to use the phrase “must win” during the regular season, especially when your team enters with a game advantage for the fourth seed. But knowing what schedule the Phoenix Suns have ahead of them Tankathon Currently ranked as the sixth hardest sixth in the NBA, I felt a must-win against Los Angeles Lakers Wednesday night.

The Suns continued their wild ride in the City of Angels, playing one less Lakers team than LeBron, and leaving with a loss.

game flow

first half

I’ll start the recap with what we already know but what we should continue to appreciate: This classic ’90s version costume is squeaky clean.

Instead of starting Malik Beasley, Lakers coach Darvin Hamm chose to go with Austin Reeves. He’s been a crowd favorite in Los Angeles, and given his ability to catch a call and the Suns’ reputation for calling, it makes sense that he got the start. He scored 35 points in the win over Orlando Magic during the Weekend.

Reeves was attacking early and scored 8 of the Lakers’ first 17 points. Cheers of “MVP” reverberated throughout the Crytpo.com Arena when he was on the line, a theme you will hear throughout the event. Reeves scored 13 first-half points to lead all scorers.

Monte Williams did something we haven’t seen him do so far this season: He replaced TJ Warren early in the game, and was the first to come off the bench without a foul (Bismak Biombo had to leave two steps early).

It was an upsetting start for Cameron Payne, who was 0-for-2 from the field at first, had an offensive error and committed a turnover. We know how it goes with the CP15. He is a confident man. If the confidence isn’t there, he usually can’t get out of his funk. He responded by scoring the final two points of the first quarter.

Suns 26, Lakers 23.

The team’s second unit, with Chris Paul at the helm, opened the second quarter cool, and they shot 0-for-6. They didn’t score in the first two and a half minutes. not good.

After a prolonged absence, Landry Shamet’s return has been smooth. In the second quarter, he started making threes thanks to his quick release and high level of confidence. In the first half, he hit 3 of 5 shots from behind the arc, so it’s great to see him again. He adds a flame-throwing mentality as well as a defensive hustle and appears to be very focused so far after two matches.

Monty Williams said before the game that Phoenix simply needed to stop fouling. The Lakers are the first team in the NBA to make mistakes and get to the goal line, so you knew it was going to be a challenge all night. The first half followed this scenario.

The Lakers attempted a total of 27 free throws in the first half, making them 20, as they constantly attacked the cylinder and put Sun in trouble. Chris Paul was forced out of the game on three fouls with over six minutes remaining in the second quarter.

Los Angeles was 12-0 at the half, scoring primarily from the goal line, to extend the lead to 10 points. It was a choppy run as the whistles slowed the game down and prevented the offensive tempo of the team not on the goal line. The Suns attempted 10 free throws in the half.

Despite the free throw fest, the Suns managed to keep their head afloat, just down 7 in the half. Booker was 3-of-6 from the field with 8 points, CP3 has 9 points in 13 minutes, and Landry has 9 points off the bench. For the Lakers, Anthony Davis had only 7 points and 4 rebounds.

Lakers 59, Suns 52.

the other half

Phoenix continued to run in quicksand in the second half as offensive turnovers and errors allowed the Lakers to push their lead to 12 points. When the whistles don’t get your way, everything seems to fester.

Devin Booker, who was blatantly slapped on the arm by D’Angelo Russell in the first half (no call), was attacked by Jared Vanderbilt. Monty simply had to use the challenge to get the right call.

Just one night, baby.

Anthony Davis started in the third. Suns could not cope. Bismach and Jock Landal had three fouls each, what does that mean? Feed Milady inside and laugh as anyone tries to challenge him.

Devin Booker started to take matters into his own hands, as once Vanderbilt hit his fourth foul, things started to open up. He went 5-of-6 in the third and scored 14 points in the quarter to help Phoenix close the deficit. They finished the quarter at 8-2.

Los Angeles hit 4 free throws in the third goal. Lakers 88, Suns 85.

Monty Booker—who played all 12 minutes in the third—started with the team’s second unit to start the fourth, and continued as a shooter. The Suns 5 went down with 8 minutes left when Booker was benched. Minutes without him on the ground will be vital to the outcome of the match.

Phoenix responded quickly with a 4-0 lead, prompting the Lakers to re-evaluate their strategy. The Lakers responded, 7-0. Back to Poker.

The Lakers began attacking the roller again with Reaves, and the whistlers began to put Los Angeles back on the line. Chris Paul had fifth with 4:52 left in the game on a Reeves drive, and his free throws pushed the lead to 9.

Phoenix could not close the gap, as Los Angeles scored a season high in free throw attempts. The Suns committed the second most fouls with 30 and allowed the most free tries this year. That’s a lot to hear Monty’s “No More Mistakes” speech.

Anthony Davis scored 27 points, DeLo added 26, and Austin Reavis added 25. Booker scored 33 points, but only Chris Paul (18), Landry Shamet (15), and Torey Craig (14) were in double the number with the Suns.

The Suns have now lost five of their last six games.

the next

The Suns next mission is to face off against Sacramento Kings on friday and Philadelphia Seventy Sixers on saturday.

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