The Phoenix Suns are now 3-1 on the season after picking up a 109-105 victory over the previously undefeated Los Angeles Lakers.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The Suns were able to avenge their 123-116 loss to Los Angeles in the teams’ first meeting of the year last Friday.
Here are some quick, initial takeaways from the victory:
– The Suns showed a lot of resilience and made quick adjustments to turn an 18-point first quarter deficit into a two-point halftime lead and eventually a win.
– Devin Booker had his best game of the season so far, finishing with a season-high 33 points on 11-of-23 shooting. There was never any need to panic about Booker after his uncharacteristic slow start to the year.
– Kevin Durant is defying his age at 36 years old, as he ended with 30 points on 11-of-20 shooting, eight rebounds, four assists and four blocks. This was Durant’s third-straight 30 point game and fourth-straight 25-point game to start the year.
63 PTS for this @Suns duo in their 3rd win of the season!
☀️ DBook: 33 PTS | KD: 30 PTS ☀️ pic.twitter.com/tU1now23D1
— NBA (@NBA) October 29, 2024
– Royce O’Neale is proving how valuable of a piece he is to the team. O’Neale finished with a team-high plus/minus of +25 and had 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting, nine rebounds and four assists in 25 minutes off the bench.
Royce O’Neale runner gives the #Suns a three-point lead with just under 1:30 remaining! pic.twitter.com/lewYVzZphI
— Burn City Suns ☀️ (@BurnCitySuns) October 29, 2024
– The Suns had a few untimely fouls, but overall did a much better job of not sending Los Angeles to the line after they had 22 more free throw attempts than Phoenix in the teams’ first meeting. This was a big point of emphasis by Mike Budenholzer heading into to the game. The Lakers ended 13-for-18 (72.2%) from the free throw line, while the Suns were 18-for-20 (90%).
– Another point of emphasis by the Suns going into tonight was turnovers, and Phoenix ended with 11 turnovers after 17 in Friday’s matchup.
– Ryan Dunn continued his strong start to his rookie campaign with seven points on 3-of-5 shooting, while primarily guarding LeBron James on the other end. James only had 11 points in the game on 3-of-14 shooting.
– Are the Suns fourth quarter problems officially a thing of the past? Phoenix started the fourth on a 12-3 run and ended up winning the quarter 33-22, hitting big shot after big shot down the stretch.
– It was a block party in Phoenix, as the Suns had 11 blocks on the night led by Durant’s four.
– Jusuf Nurkić struggled again against Los Angeles, finishing with two points on 1-of-6 shooting and was a -22 in 15 minutes. The big man only played five minutes in the second half, as the Suns either went small or turned to Mason Plumlee, who was really impressive with a team-high 10 rebounds in 26 minutes off the bench.
– Anthony Davis continued to dominate for the Lakers with 29 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks. However, Phoenix played great defense on him following his 16 points in the first quarter.
The Suns are in back in action Thursday night on the road against the Los Angeles Clippers (2-1).
What the Suns have to do to maintain slim lead over Lakers after halftime
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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
