The reigning champion has to say goodbye to the playoffs! The Los Angeles Lakers also lost Game 6 against the Phoenix Suns 100-113. A catastrophic start for the Lakers and the outstanding Devin Booker put Phoenix on the road to victory. The comeback of LeBron James and Co. has not been crowned with success.
Booker was really on fire in the first quarter and gave the Lakers 22 points. In the end there were 47 points (plus 11 rebounds and 3 assists) with an outstanding 15/22 from the field and 8/10 from Downtown on the account of the Suns-Guard. After Charles Barkley, he is only the second player in franchise history to put up such numbers in the playoffs.
Jae Crowder also did well for the Suns with 6 three-pointers for 18 points, Chris Paul got 8 points (4/12 FG) and 12 assists in 29 minutes. His shoulder injury seemed to be affecting him, but the veteran’s experience was an important factor in bringing home the fourth quarter win.
The Lakers showed morale after a temporary 29-point deficit in the first half when the game seemed already decided. Led by LeBron James (29, 9 rebounds and 7 assists at 11/26 FG), Dennis Schröder (20, 6/14 FG) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (19), LA started a comeback, but the Lakers never came to less than ten points.
Anthony Davis was no help, although the Big Man tried to play despite his groin problems, but after five minutes he had to give up, the pain was too great. In the end, LeBron suffered his first first round bankruptcy in the postseason of his career after 14 wins in 14 appearances. Meanwhile, the Suns meet the Denver Nuggets in the second round, who prevailed against Portland.
Horror start for the Los Angeles Lakers – Booker on fire
The evening started with good news for the Lakers, Davis was released by the team doctors and could play. AD was back in the starting five, and Marc Gasol replaced Andre Drummond as the center. However, it quickly became apparent that AD was playing with pain. Several times he made a grimace, after only five and a half minutes he had to go to the bench after trying to block, shortly afterwards he hobbled into the cabin.
But that’s not all for the Lakers. Phoenix got off to a much better start, especially Crowder was hot right away after initial problems in this series. His first three threesomes slipped through the trap, Booker also let it rain: Two triples in a row took the guests away with 27:10! Paul also had problems with his damaged shoulder, but Booker single-handedly overran the home side. His 22 points in 6/6 threesomes gave the Suns a 36-14 lead after the first quarter.
At the Lakers, on the other hand, absolutely nothing was offensive. Schröder aggressively sought the end, but remained unlucky (1/6 FG in half time), and LeBron was also little to be seen. Suns’ lead grew to 29 points at the beginning of the second quarter, and a zone defense could not stop the guests. Only a personal 8-0 run by Caldwell-Pope brought LA some life back, but that wasn’t enough to shake Phoenix. Booker provided the answer with another triple, it went into the half-time break with 62:41.
Los Angeles Lakers start a comeback attempt – without success
After all, the Lakers showed significantly more intensity, fight and passion in defense after the break, led by strong pressure from Schröder on the ball carrier. This energy also helped at the other end of the court (9 Schröder points in the third quarter), where LeBron also slowly woke up. LA even cut to 12 points, but Wesley Matthews from Downtown missed out on a single-digit deficit. With 76:89 from the Lakers point of view, it went into the final section.
James was now still trying to attack the opponent’s basket, but also postponed several attempts directly on the ring. The defense was there for this, in Transition LA turned to -10 after a Suns turnover. The answer of the guests? Paul took the offense in hand, created a corner three for Mikal Bridges and made a 7-0 run for the Suns with a middle distance jumper to make it 101: 84 in the middle of the run.
Again the Lakers crawled up a little, this time with a cracking putback from Talen Horton-Tucker. And again the Suns reacted, first with a crowd triple and then Booker on the free throw line. Crowder was ultimately responsible for the Dagger again, with a good one and a half minutes before the end he increased the Suns lead to 16 points. That’s it, the Los Angeles Lakers have to pack their bags for their summer vacation.
The most important statistics
Los Angeles Lakers (7) vs. Phoenix Suns (2) 100:113 (BOXSCORE), Serie: 2-4
- The first quarter of Booker can hardly be described in words, the adjective outstanding is the closest to it. The Suns Guard scored 8 points more than the entire Lakers team (22:14), hit as many threesomes as the Lakers field throw attempts (6) and shot the reigning champion single-handedly.
- Since the colleagues – primarily Jae Crowder, who started the series with 2/20 – had a good hand from a distance, Phoenix set the record for the most three-pointers in a playoff quarter (10). In the end, Phoenix had 18/35 threes (51.4 percent), the Lakers only 10/35.
- According to ESPN Stats & Info The Lakers’ 29 point deficit at half time was the second highest deficit for LeBron in a first half of a playoff game of all time. The highest came in Game 5 against the Suns (-30). The 21-point deficit at half-time was also a negative record in front of their own audience in the Lakers’ playoff history.
- The increased defensive pressure of the Lakers in the second half made itself felt, among other things, in the turnover. Schröder forced several loose balls with his sometimes full court press, Phoenix gave the ball seven times after the break – the Lakers only twice (14: 7 in total).
- At least there was one positive aspect to report from LeBron’s point of view. The King catapulted himself into the top 10 of the all-time playoff blocks with a block in the second quarter, making it loud StatMuse now a place in the top 10 in every important category for counting stats in the playoffs.
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Phoenix Suns: The Voices
Devin Booker (Suns): “I’ve been working towards this moment all my life. Now it was time not to shy away from it. I wanted to show that on the court today.”
Frank Vogel (Lakers-Coach): “Anthony Davis is a warrior. He certainly didn’t move very well at the beginning of the game. In the end, the injuries we had to endure were too much for us. I think we had a group that would have the title defend if it hadn’t been for the injuries. “
The star of the game: Devin Booker
Already in game 5, the 24-year-old was the dominant figure on the floor, and he seamlessly continued this appearance. His personal triple fireworks display in the first quarter drove the Lakers to despair and the Suns on the road to victory. He sank buttery-soft stepbacks or ice-cold triples with a hand in his face, the degree of difficulty of the throw did not seem to matter.
Flop of the game: Kyle Kuzma
It was definitely not Kuzma’s show. The Lakers forward only placed 7.2 points in the first five games with a throw rate of 31 percent. On the offensive, LA could have used a push from the 25-year-old – the fans waited in vain for that in game 6. With only 2 points in 18 minutes (1/6 FG), Kuzma remained pale again.
The scene of the game
A hot Devin Booker versus a battered Anthony Davis. This mismatch was just unfair, and a few minutes after the tip-off, AD actually did a pretty good job of contesting the Suns-Guard’s throw. Booker got along with it just enough space for a stepbackto hammer the triple through the trap. It was the start of his incredible three-way series.
Suns vs. Lakers: The games of the series – Stand: 4: 2
| game | date | Time | Home | Away | Result |
| 1 | 23. May | 9.30 p.m. | Suns | Lakers | 99:90 |
| 2 | 26. May | 4 o’clock | Suns | Lakers | 102:109 |
| 3 | 28. Mai | 4 o’clock | Lakers | Suns | 109:95 |
| 4 | 30. May | 9.30 p.m. | Lakers | Suns | 92:100 |
| 5 | 2. June | 4 o’clock | Suns | Lakers | 115:85 |
| 6 | 4. June | 4.30 a.m. | Lakers | Suns | 100:113 |
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