Led by another great performance from Austin Reaves and an active Anthony Davis, the Lakers get their final leg right footed.
With just ten regular-season games remaining through Wednesday night, the Lakers started their final leg with a right foot, taking care of the Phoenix Suns 122-111.
The Lakers are now 36-37 and back in the play-in position in a Western Conference race that’s as close as ever.
Before the game, Darvin Ham hinted that he had “something up my sleeve” regarding the starting position. That something was the insertion of Austin Reaves in place of the collapsing Malik Beasley.
Reaves got the nod after his career-best 35-point performance against the Orlando Magic, and the impact was immediate. He led all Lakers with ten points in the opening quarter and finished the night with 25 points and a career-high 11 assists.
We didn’t get a very aggressive Anthony Davis early in the game but he stepped up in the second half. He had a monstrous dunk in the third where it looked like he was about to break the rim. The rim survived the attack, but the Suns did not, as Davis had 27 points and nine rebounds in the bounce back win.
D’Angelo Russell also had strong play for purples and golds. Calm and efficient on offense, he finished the night with 26 points on 9-13 shooting. With reports the Lakers have a “strong” interest in re-signing him, games like tonight will certainly help.
The Lakers brought the energy and focus they needed in the first half. Behind a stingy defense, they managed to keep the Suns off the field at 40% shooting and had a six-point lead at halftime.
On offense, Reaves’ ability to draw fouls seems to have become contagious as the Lakers threw up 27 free throws in the first half compared to Phoenix’s 10.
Phoenix took the lead in the third quarter behind dynamic guard duo Chris Paul and Devin Booker. As expected, Paul was excellent with his midrange game and had 18 points that night. Despite the Lakers’ efforts, Booker still played at his All-Star level and scored 33 goals.
A three-pointer from Cameron Payne followed by a terrible inbound from Wenyen Gabriel created a six-point swing and Phoenix went fourth, just three points behind.
We had a ball game with twelve minutes left. The teams traded hoops and it became clear that Phoenix wasn’t going to walk away. But when Booker took a brief breather, the Lakers went heavy with the Russell-Davis combination to start a 10-2 run to finally close the door on Phoenix.
The central theses
With nine games remaining and two remaining in that homestand, the Lakers are once again a .500 win away. If there was ever a time for the best record of the season, it’s now.
Their upcoming duel against the Oklahoma City Thunder couldn’t be bigger. A win would propel them above the Thunder in the standings and also give them the tiebreak in their season series, which could be crucial given the closeness of the play-in race.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.
Continue reading