PHOENIX – With getting the massive reinforcements of stars Bradley Beal and Kevin Durant back, the Phoenix Suns were able to snap a five-game losing streak and crush the Los Angeles Lakers 127-100 on Tuesday.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Coming off injury, both Beal and Durant scored 23 points each for the Suns (10-7) while Devin Booker led the team with 26 points. Anthony Davis eclipsed 25 points and 15 rebounds for a double-double in the Lakers’ (10-7) third straight loss.
Here are the key takeaways from the Suns crushing the Lakers:
-Sidelined for the past seven games, Durant (left calf strain) returned and didn’t miss a beat. The Suns superstar had 23 points, six rebounds and two assists in 30 minutes of play. Starting the season 8-1, Phoenix was then 1-6 during Durant’s absence and went to either Royce O’Neale at forward or fielded out a two-center lineup to make up for the lack of size without Durant.
-Beal (left calf strain) missed the past five games in which the Suns were 0-5, but came back right into Mike Budenholzer’s starting lineup against the Lakers and made an instant impact from the jump. Beal notched 23 points, two assists and two rebounds in 27 minutes, shooting 10-for-15 (66.7%) from the field and 3-for-6 (50%) from 3.
-After scoring 35 and 29 points in the first two matchups against the Suns on Oct. 25 and 28, Davis (left plantar fasciitis) played through his injury and shined regardless of the result. Davis posted 25 points, 15 rebounds, five assists and four blocks, the second time this year that he had a double-double against the Suns.
-The first quarter was back and forth before Beal and Grayson Allen helped the Suns conclude the first quarter up 31-25. Phoenix shot 5-for-10 (50%) from deep and Allen had eight points off the bench in the frame.
-Just when they thought they were starting to create a bigger and bigger score differential, the Suns’ 50-41 lead over the Lakers quickly dissipated as Austin Reaves scored eight straight points in a 10-1 run in the second quarter. Making tough shot after tough shot, the Oklahoma product put up 15 points, three rebounds and two assists.
-The Suns outscored the Lakers 54-50 in the paint and outrebounded them 46-42.
-For almost every basket Phoenix scored, Los Angeles found a way to respond and kept the game close until an 11-2 run was spurred by Booker in the third quarter. Netting each point for the Suns during that stretch, Booker tallied 11 of his 26 points in that quarter alone.
-The Suns got into a groove on both ends of the floor in the third frame, outscoring the Lakers 36-18 and formulating a 20-point lead, 98-78.
-Off to a slow start compared to his standards, James was unable to form any consistency on offense but was still effective in other facets of the game. Despite being tightly guarded and double-teamed at times, James neared a triple-double as he had 18 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds.
-Putting the icing on the cake of an impressive return to the Suns, Beal used his high-level athleticism and energy to run down the court before rejecting a layup by James.
-While having the difficult task of stopping a superstar like Davis, Jusuf Nurkić quietly had a solid performance in the victory. The Bosnian finished with 12 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal.
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Reporter Alec Cipollini covers the Phoenix Mercury, Suns and ASU Athletics for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @AlecCipollini
