For the show, it was better to look in the stands at Staples Center Friday night. Failing to have seen their Los Angeles Lakers open their victory counter this season (115-105 loss to Phoenix, after the inaugural loss to Golden State), Angelenos fans had the opportunity to understand why the establishment of collective chemistry could take time.
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In the first half, while the 2020 champion had all the trouble in the world to follow the tempo set by the Phoenix Suns – their executioners of the first round of the play-offs last season (4-2) – the pivots Anthony Davis and Dwight Howard began a scuffle, quickly controlled by their teammates. “They had a misunderstanding on how to defend, they tried to talk about it, their trainer Frank Vogel explained after the game. But sometimes when you get your ass kicked it gets hotter. They talked about it, they love each other, that’s the kind of thing that can happen. “
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Shipwreck in the third quarter
It must be said that the score at the break (44-57) surprised, both in scale and in the manner, and reflected all the difficulties of the Lakers to find their identity by trying to integrate as well as possible Russell Westbrook, author of a decent game (15 points, 11 rebounds, 9 assists). At his side, Anthony (22 points, 14 rebounds), LeBron James (25 points, 5 assists) or Carmelo Anthony (16 points) were in sight but could not avoid the rout of theirs during the third quarter ( 23-37). A period which saw a fan being ejected from the room after having clapped the hand of a Rajon Rondo visibly turned up against him.
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Far from all this turmoil, the Suns did not have to force their talent in order to obtain their first success of the season, while celebrating a big step in the long career of Chris Paul (23 points, 14 assists): the 36-year-old leader crossed the symbolic 20,000 points mark, becoming the only player in the history of the League to accumulate at least 20,000 points and 10,000 assists in his career. Devin Booker (22 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists) and Mikal Bridges (21 points) also healed their statistics.
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