Life without LeBron James it is another life. Lakers are already beginning to know that axiom. An axiom that is enlarged if one also plays without Anthony Davis. And that has immediate consequences if the rival is Phoenix Suns.
Too many adversities to face successfully. Lakers have a game and a half without LeBron and already accumulated two losses. The idea now is to survive. Try to save the furniture while your two big stars recover. At least, Marc Gasol seems close to coming back. In these circumstances all help is welcome.
Phoenix knew of the opponent’s weakness. Starting with his painting. And there the Suns went to do damage. Without going further, Deandre Ayton brightness. And that is not being usual this season. Ayton does not hit the jump that everyone expected. Keep idling. Not today.
Ayton has added 26 points and 8 rebounds. It has had little opposition. His series on the shot: 10 out of 13. Devin Booker He has added another 26. And 9 rebounds. Y Chris Paul He has sat down in the chair once more with a triple-double. To his credit, 11 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists. And most importantly: he has become the sixth player to reach 10,000 assists. He did it in the third quarter. With an alley-oop culminated by Ayton. Joins John Stockton, Jason Kidd, Steve Nash, Mark Jackson Y Magic Johnson. Almost nothing.
Lakers have done what they could. Without inner power. Neither was anything good from the triple. But at least he fought the game. His two top scorers, two newcomers. Now they have to take the reins due to casualties. Montrezl Harrell added 23 points and 10 rebounds; Dennis Schröder made 22 points.
In addition, 17 points of Tyler Horton-Tucker. Horton-Tucker continues to carve out the future. Kyle Kuzma I try. But it was not accurate. On the side of those who did not measure up … Markieff Morris, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Y Wes Matthews. The latter is a non-stop. He looks like a retired gamer.
Lakers already trailed 59-44 at halftime. Booker and Ayton had hurt. The Angelenos had only made 2 triples. At least they held the battle on the boards.
The third quarter ended 88-76. But the Lakers didn’t give up. And Phoenix saw his rival get within 7 points in the fourth quarter (96-89). It was the swan song. The Suns fueled the march: 103-89 and the game was over.
Phoenix is a greased team. He has 17 victories in his last 21 games. Lakers is a team with a sense of urgency. It is still left over in the classification. But difficult times come.
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