by The Phoenix Suns’ 123-116 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers was the second time in two attempts that they failed to put the past behind them.
Just like the season opener, this was the hope of the new Suns, who emerged from last season and wanted to overcome their worst habits. Phoenix scored 38 points in the first quarter, delivered by 15 assists on 16 baskets, including eight 3-pointers. Los Angeles was extremely committed on the first attempt at defense and extremely disinterested in the subsequent attempts that had to take place, a malaise that the Suns addressed with excellent paint contact and ball movement.
Phoenix’s lead grew to as many as 22 points in the first half before, yes, the turnovers returned. The Suns had 13 giveaways in the first half, kindly rolling out the red carpet on the Lakers’ path to the game and helping them cross the street first to boot. LA had a 19-point lead and was only nine points behind at halftime. The careless passing game, particularly from Jusuf Nurkic, was lazy considering how easy it was to break through the Lakers’ defense for better passing opportunities.
Unsurprisingly, the Lakers came out of halftime with a lot more energy, using a 16-6 run less than four minutes early in the third quarter to give them the lead. Much like Wednesday, when the Stars’ poor performances resulted in a game that should have been canceled earlier, remaining alive, the turnovers created the same effect, putting this contest in the “well, anything can happen now” mode. Area for a game that should have been over. For all the concerns about the Suns’ fourth quarter and closing games, they’re 0-2 before that was even necessary.
Phoenix was down two at the start of the final frame and Nurkic’s errors continued to pile up. Mason Plumlee had four fouls at that point and rookie Oso Ighodaro is too small to line up as the Lakers’ frontcourt 5, so the Suns went small with Durant and Dunn as the frontcourt. Phoenix’s offense consisted of Durant dealing with Durant, looking for the right matchup, the exact tempo that Phoenix should avoid as much as possible. Durant was fantastic up to this point, but the Suns won primarily because of their speed in the halfcourt.
Through this and a few defensive slips, the Lakers extended their lead to 10. Ighodaro was soon deployed at 5 while Anthony Davis sat on the bench. Plumlee checked in when Davis did with 7:25 left, and Phoenix trailed by nine.
Seven points from Tyus Jones briefly got the Suns’ offense going, but the Phoenix defense began to falter, momentarily losing focus or not extending the effort to make the extra effort possible. The Lakers made a big jump, making it within a dozen with 6:07 left. Phoenix at its best won’t be a winner if it relaxes like that on defense at crucial times, and it’s nowhere near as good on offense before it falls into that trap. Phoenix went back to Durant at the 5, without Nurkic the rest of the way.
The Suns got it within six minutes with less than two minutes remaining before an open Rui Hachimura fired a three-pointer against everyone and collapsed for LeBron James on contact with the post.
Devin Booker looked like himself with 10 points in the first quarter, but quickly lost his rhythm and finished 9 of 21 with 23 points. Similarly, Bradley Beal was great in the first half before the ball barely reached him in the second half. He dished out a team-high nine assists for a team-high 15 points (6 of 14), while Durant scored a team-high 30 points. These are the departments where implementing point guards should help, and the sooner the continuity process moves forward, the better.
It didn’t feel like a hugely impactful Anthony Davis night, but he made 17 free throws to keep pace with the Suns and finished with 35 points, eight rebounds, four assists, a steal and two blocks. Austin Reaves’ shooting was great with 26 points, eight assists and three steals.
Phoenix dished out 35 assists in the game and shot 17 of 37 (45.9%) from 3, which matched LA’s similar efficiency at 14 of 27 (51.9%). The Lakers were +14 on the foul line.
Due to personal reasons, Grayson Allen was late for this game. Allen shared on social media during the offseason that he and his wife Morgan were expecting their first child. His absence led to more minutes for Royce O’Neale and Dunn, both of whom played very well.
