Suns at Lakers: Phoenix brushes off Booker ejection in impressive win
The Los Angeles Lakers, shorthanded as they were against the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night without Marc Gasol and Kyle Kuzma, in addition to missing Anthony Davis, were given a gift in the third quarter of their loss against the Suns. But the Suns were not in the habit of letting one play define them on Tuesday as their relentless nature helped them survive losing their leading scorer, beating the Los Angeles Lakers, 114-104.
LeBron James had a game-high 38 points to go with six assists and five rebounds. While James was excellent, he didn’t get enough help on the offensive end as Dennis Schröder (6 for 17) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (0 for 5) both struggled to help LeBron.
The Lakers bench, while they got a nice contribution from Talen Horton-Tucker, was outplayed by the Phoenix second group. Dario Saric led the Suns in scoring with 21 points and he feasted in isolation situations against several players on the Lakers. Were it not for Saric, the Suns would not have cruised to victory the way they did.
Uno Más
The Lakers only have one more game between now and the All-Star break. Tomorrow they travel to Sacramento where they will face the Kings in their finale for the first half of the season. LeBron James didn't look like someone who was ready to give in but we did see the issues the Lakers have without Marc Gasol, who was out tonight due to the league's Health and Safety protocols. With Gasol likely out tomorrow, the Lakers will be undermanned. Kyle Kuzma, who missed Tuesday with a heel contusion, is also a candidate to miss tomorrow night because of the potential two weeks rest he could get by sitting out tomorrow. The Lakers, like their opponents, will be looking towards a break. After falling to 3rd place in the West after tonight's loss, LeBron likely isn't in the mood to have them carry a losing feeling into an extended break.
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