The Lakers began their final 10-game stretch with an important win over the shorthanded Suns on Wednesday night, leaning on a new starting lineup to take down Phoenix 122-111. The win pulls the Lakers back into the top-10 of the conference and to within 1.5 games of the 6th seed.
Before the game, Coach Darvin Ham hinted at potential changes to his starting lineup and delivered on that foreshadowing by placing Austin Reaves, coming off his career scoring night vs. the Magic, into the first five in place of Malik Beasley. Austin delivered on that trust, tallying a double-double with 25 points on 6-10 shooting from the field and 12-13 from the foul line to go along with a team — and career — high 11 assists.
Building on his strong play from the Orlando game, Reaves was again a focal point of the offense, splitting the ball handling duties with the team’s other point guards and looking comfortable attacking coming off screens and in isolation alike. And then when he worked off the ball and the action swung his way, he used his quick processing speed to dissect where the ball should go and made excellent passes to the open man for easy shots both beyond the arc and inside the paint.
D’Angelo Russell joined his new starting backcourt mate in having an excellent night, knocking down nine of his 13 attempts from the field (3-6 from behind the arc) to pour in 26 points to go along with six assists of his own. Like Reaves, Russell expertly shifted between on-ball threat and off-ball worker, slithering his way into the paint for crafty scoop-shot finishes and canning spot up jumpers via ball reversals when the Suns defense got into scramble mode.
While the team’s guards showed out, Anthony Davis also bounced back from his 15-point night on Sunday for 27 points and 9 rebounds vs. the Suns. Davis was particularly impressive in the 3rd quarter, where he went toe-to-toe with an aggressive Devin Booker matching him bucket for bucket to score 14 points and ensure that the Suns wouldn’t overtake them on the scoreboard.
What stood out most about this stretch, beyond some of the difficult shots he was able to knock down, was Davis’ general aggression level in seeking out the ball and really making the defense pay with quick moves. Be it a step-back jumper, a quick jab and spin that flowed into a jump hook, or a classic drop step from the left wing into a power finish, AD flashed his trademark ability to play with finesse and force to keep his team in the driver’s seat.
On the Suns side, Devin Booker did his best to keep them in the game, not only matching AD’s 14 points in the 3rd, but adding 11 more in the 4th enroute to 33 for the game. After Jarred Vanderbilt and his excellent on and off ball defense helped hold him to eight points on only six shot attempts in the first half, Booker, after Vanderbilt went to the bench with foul trouble, was able to get into a rhythm and bring his team back to within striking distance where it seemed the game could go either way.
But, the Lakers simply weren’t going to let this game get away. After Phoenix pulled to within a single point at 99-98 with 7:29 left in the game, the Lakers countered with a 10-2 run led by Russell and Davis to seize control of the game back. Then, the rest of the way, they were able to hold on by continuing to draw fouls and bury their free throws, as they did for most of the night (36-46 from the line for the game).
Now back to within a single game of .500, the Lakers will again have a chance to bring their record even when they’re back in action Friday vs. the visiting Thunder.
