Lakers’ early deficit and inability to overcome it hinder them against the Suns
The game on Sunday in Phoenix is evidence that you can lose a game early just as easily as you can lose it late.
The Lakers battled their way back to within four points of the Suns in a 123-113 loss, but they were never able to overcome a 20-point deficit after giving up a season-high 45 points in the first quarter. The game sends the Lakers to the 10th spot in the Western Conference and further distances them from the teams vying for the 6th spot in the loss column.
A defeat to the Suns usually indicates that Kevin Durant and Devin Booker had a strong performance, but that wasn’t the case in this one. Although they each scored more than 20 points and finished with a combined total of 43, it was only on 15 of 38 shots as neither of them was able to reach their full potential or reach a level that was often expected.
Rather, the Suns’ bench players came through for the majority of the game, with Jusuf Nurkic, Royce O’Neale, and Grayson Allen all scoring in double digits and damaging the Lakers’ offense.
With a combined 22 shots, Allen and O’Neale combined for six three-pointers, demonstrating their skill as long-range shooters. With 24 points total, Allen led the Suns. To make the most of his available space, he combined long-range shooting with occasional drives. O’Neale, on the other hand, played a fantastic two-way game, making the Lakers rotating defense pay on one end and then assisting in finishing off defensive possessions with crucial boards on the other. He finished with 20 points total and added 10 rebounds, nine of which were defensive.
Regarding Nurkic, he provided the Suns with life in the interior offensively with his 18 points and 22 rebounds, seven of which came from an offensive position. Good screen sets and powerful rolls to the hoop allowed Nurkic to position himself for easy passes when the Lakers threw more defensive personnel in to cover Booker and Durant at the offensive end. In addition, Nurkic established himself deep in the paint, using his size and broad base to block off space and pull offensive rebounds when he didn’t have the ball. With their 14 offensive rebounds, the Suns converted 22 second-chance points; a large portion of those scores came from Nurkic.
The Lakers were led by D’Angelo Russell, Anthony Davis, and LeBron James, each of whom scored 20 points or more. LeBron led the way with 12 assists, 7 rebounds, and 28 points on 12 of 19 shooting. up addition to mixing up hard drives, post ups, and open court dunks to earn points in the paint, LeBron exploited both the inside and the arc, making three of his six tries from beyond the arc.
AD only attempted four shots in the first two quarters and scored four points, therefore he did not receive many offensive touches in the first half. But in the second half, Davis was considerably more active and converted those possessions into scoring opportunities, finishing with 14 rebounds, 3 thefts, 3 blocks, and 22 points on 11 of 17 shooting. Although Davis did receive two early fouls that limited his playing time in the first half, it is evident that the team’s failure to get the ball to him contributed to their struggle to maintain an attacking pace in the opening minutes of the game.
In contrast, Russell scored 20 points on 8 of 14 shots, including half of his 8 tries from beyond the arc. As usual, Russell would contribute three rebounds and seven assists, keeping his teammates engaged. If not for a few three-pointers that went off without much hesitation, Russell may have contributed to the Lakers winning the game outright. His aggressiveness and ability to create shots for himself and his teammates were crucial in the team’s comeback from a lackluster first quarter.
Too bad things didn’t work out. The Suns’ role players and backup scorers performed admirably in this game, while the Lakers’ output was just inferior. Both Rui Hachimura (13 points) and Austin Reaves (14 points) had good performances, although Reaves’ efficiency was not as good as it might have been (two of seven three-pointers), and Rui did not receive as many shot attempts as he could have (five of nine total) in his 26 minutes on the court.
In addition, the Lakers bench only managed 16 points overall. In nearly 51 minutes of play, Taurean Prince (eight points, three of ten shooting, -13 in the boxscore) and Spencer Dinwiddie (three points, one of five shooting) combined for 11 of those points. Max Christie played well in his lone four-plus minute shift in the third quarter (and was a +4 in the boxscore); it’s hard to tell whether a different minutes distribution would have affected the result in this one.a strong perimeter defense given his stature. While defending Durant, Rui stood up quite well defensively and converted his own opportunities into points. Both players had the chance to have a greater effect in a game when the Lakers might have benefited from a little bit more offensive punch and defensive size on the wing.
But that’s not how it happened. In an attempt to make a difference in the rankings, the Lakers return to Los Angeles trailing a game they undoubtedly wanted. When they host the Clippers on Wednesday, they will want to get back on track.