On Thursday night, the Suns played their second straight game in Los Angeles and defeated the Lakers 127-109. After winning the inaugural In-Season Tournament, the Lakers are now 19-20. There are a lot of concerns going on in their locker room, and as usual, they have their name linked to many big names for the trade deadline. Coming into LA, the Suns handled business.
The Suns got their 20th win of the season, putting them two games over .500 (20-18). The first three quarters played last night should be normal for how the Suns play their games. The big three looked great, with Bradley Beal leading the way with 37-4-6 (including eight threes), and Devin Booker with 31-5-5. Something big is definitely bound to happen with this team, as things are meshing together.
Early this week, the Suns had a very progressive meeting, and it showed last night. This was one of the best games played by this team this season. Even though the Suns won, their fourth-quarter struggles continued.
In the fourth quarter, the Lakers outscored the Suns 31-22. The Suns brought out the back end of their bench for most of the quarter, but even when the starters were playing, things still looked sloppy. They just got a little too comfortable. Another concern was Phoenix’s bench points. Bol Bol, who has been trending upwards, was the highest scorer coming off the bench with six points. This should be seen as an issue. Yes, Phoenix still came out on top, but having inconsistent scoring coming off the bench is not a good look. Eric Gordon has shown that he can take charge by being the scorer off the bench, but he can be kind of streaky at times. That being said, he has still been a solid addition to this team, but this flaw may need to be addressed with the trade deadline coming up.
Overall, this was a very solid win against an old foe in the Lakers. Other than some small fourth-quarter struggles, the Suns kept their foot on the gas pedal for the whole game. They were able to brush off Monday’s loss and come back into the same building and take charge.
