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AUTHOR KELLAN OLSON:
This season, the Phoenix Suns have responded to start a game surprisingly seldom, given some of the setbacks they've endured.
But for whatever reason, after two consecutive losses, they seemed to be a team eager to disprove that notion going into their nationally televised game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday, defeating them 127-109.
There was concentration, execution, and effort. It might come out of nowhere occasionally, like Thursday, but Phoenix's key contributors have all been there long enough to know what it takes in those aspects.
The offensive of Phoenix (20-18) was aggressive in its schematic targeting of Los Angeles's weak points. When completely focused, LeBron James is still an excellent defender at his age, but in recent years, he has been known to let go of the ball. Since he was marking Grayson Allen, the Suns' opening few plays had the shooter moving around to make it difficult for James to remain in contact. Austin Reaves is a frequent target, and Phoenix often pitted him against a Big 3 player.
In contrast, the Lakers' (19–20) offense was both sad and lifeless. Phoenix maintained a strong offensive tempo and led by as much as 17 points thanks to solid intensity on that end.
As a scorer, Devin Booker led the way, scoring 17 of his 31 points. Booker scored double digits in the first quarter for the fourth time this season, which is a hallmark of his game and something he accomplished 49 times in the previous two years. When an opponent puts a scrappy, youthful defender on Booker, who is eager to establish himself, he really got going and picked on Lakers second-year player Max Christie. Christie is the most recent in a pattern throughout Booker's career of playing with a swagger of "seriously, this guy?"
During the second quarter—which has been particularly erratic lately—Los Angeles battled back to reach within six, and the lead was eventually increased to 14. After the Lakers answered the initial blow, Booker checked back in, and the Suns maintained that range for the remainder of the half, raising the question of whether they had another in them given the dubious vibes they now possess.
The Lakers attempted a couple defensive tweaks against the Suns to start the second half, including overloading Booker and placing elite perimeter defender Jarred Vanderbilt in his path. In response, they used it to further facilitate a two-man game between Bradley Beal and Durant, whom Phoenix should employ more often since Beal's screener role is one of his many underutilized strengths. Phoenix basically made the two deals because they worked well.
A little more than six minutes into the second half, Phoenix led by twenty-five points and continued to do so because of the Lakers' inability to mount a meaningful comeback.
With 20 of his 37 points coming in the third quarter, Beal was the one who settled into a groove. This was his second stellar performance in the last week, a sign that he is regaining his form as one of the solar system's top two guards.
Phoenix's historically dismal fourth-quarter performance this season made a short appearance when the Lakers defeated L.A. within 19 points thanks to a 10-0 surge in the first part of the quarter when James and Anthony Davis were off the court. To allay any worries, however, Beal made his seventh and eighth 3-pointers of the game to start garbage time.
Frank Vogel, the head coach of the Suns, tightened up his rotation and now plays with eight players. Josh Okogie played on the wing, while Eric Gordon and Bol Bol alternated in the guard and frontcourt rotations, respectively, throughout most of the game. Although Bol was sometimes used at the 5 when both centers were sitting, Vogel has been playing Udoka Azubuike in tiny pockets as the backup center. This meant that Chimezie Metu, who has been playing well, would not be able to play full minutes with a Big 3.
In 32 minutes on 7 of 12 shooting, Durant finished with 18 points, five rebounds, four assists, four steals, a block, and no turnovers. With Beal's two thefts and Booker's three more, the big three combined for nine steals. Their great degree of focus on both ends of the floor is well captured by that number.
Despite a combined 2-for-15 performance from 3 for Allen (1-of-6) and Gordon (1-for-9), Phoenix was still able to have a fantastic offensive night.
Davis scored 13 points, while James shot 3 of 11 for 10.
