In a game that the Suns sat four of their five starters — including Kevin Durant and Devin Booker — the Lakers rode their hot outside shooting to get another important win, downing the Suns 121-107 on Friday night. The victory allows them to keep pace in the standings chase, maintaining their spot as the 7th seed heading into their final game of the regular season this Sunday.
This was not prettiest game the Lakers could have played, who for stretches clearly looked like they’re still fighting through the all the weight they have been carrying of the chase for the postseason combined with their recent condensed schedule. The Suns, though missing their top players, were quick to every loose ball and active defensively and on both backboards, to push the Lakers every step of the way as they struggled to get traction early on against their depleted opponent.
While the Lakers did their best to keep pace with the energetic Suns, their shooting proved to be the great equalizer that allowed them to stay in the game — and later, win it. The Lakers shot 18-36 from behind the arc, with seven players hitting at least one shot from behind the arc and four hitting multiple triples.
D’Angelo Russell led the way from the outside, scoring a team-high 24 points while connecting on six of his nine shots from distance while adding three rebounds and three assists. Russell came out firing early, knocking down his first two shots from deep and then carried that rhythm through the entirety of the game. From canning pull up jumpers in transition to late clock spot up shots, Russell threw daggers all night and really kept the Lakers offense afloat when they needed it most.
Austin Reaves joined his backcourt mate with a big night, scoring 22 points of his own on 9-13 shooting. Austin was not as three-point happy as D-Lo, doing most of his damage inside the arc making eight of his nine shots from two-point range. Showing his usual savvy to get into the midrange for jumpers and craftiness to finish around the rim, Reaves played with the type of dogged determination and efficiency that have been a hallmark of his game over the last month and a half.
Malik Beasley was also huge off the bench, finding his rhythm from deep and really providing a spark to the offense. Beasley knocked down four three pointers to pour in 21 points, using his trademarked quick release to get his jumper off even when the Suns bore down on him to take the shot away. Beasley also showed strong resolve defensively, tracking his man through screens and showing activity in the passing lanes that led to some transition action as well.
Overall, it was a night where the Lakers needed this sort of lift from players outside of LeBron and Anthony Davis, both of whom did not have their typical efficient nights scoring. LeBron scored 16 points on 6-19 shooting, while AD added 14 points on 4-12 from the field. Both certainly contributed in other ways as they always do, with Bron dishing out a team-high six assists and AD grabbing a game-high 21 rebounds to help fill in the gaps when their shots weren’t falling.
Winners of eight of their last 10 games, the Lakers will look to keep this momentum going when they play their final regular season game on Sunday against the Jazz, after which they will finally have some clarity as to where they stand heading into the postseason.
