Tonight the Los Angeles Lakers will try and snap their eight-game losing streak in Phoenix as they prepare to take on the Suns. This is the fourth and final meeting between the teams this season. Check out our game recap:
1st Quarter
The Lakers started the game with their usual lineup of D’Angelo Russell, Nick Young, Brandon Ingram, Julius Randle, and Tarik Black. The Suns countered with Eric Bledsoe, Devin Booker, TJ Warren, Marquese Chriss, and Alex Len.
Both teams started the game fairly fast as the Lakers took an early 10-8 lead four minutes into the quarter. Phoenix then took advantage of a couple of turnovers to take a three-point lead. Another Lakers turnover led to an alley-oop from Bledosoe to Chriss. On the next Suns possession Chriss knocked down a three-pointer to force the Lakers to call their first timeout.
Out of the timeout Russell scored a much needed three-pointer to stop a Suns 9-0 run. Ingram showed off his sweet shooting stroke by knocking down a 20-foot jumper to close the deficit to three points with less than five minutes to play in the quarter.
Jordan Clarkson had a chance to bring the Lakers within one-point but missed wide on a three-pointer, which led to the Suns getting out in transition resulting in a Warren and-one slam dunk. On the following Lakers possession, Russell drilled a midrange jumper then knocked down a three-pointer.
Ingram once again displayed his versatility when he spun around Jared Dudley and converted a difficult layup that he got fouled on but failed to make the free throw. Before the quarter ended, Clarkson connected on his first three-pointer of the night to bring the Lakers within one point. The Lakers trail at the end of the first quarter, 33-32.
2nd Quarter
The Suns began the quarter by scoring two straight baskets but the Lakers quickly responded with baskets of their own to tie the game at 38. Leandro Barbosa entered the game for the Suns and immediately knocked down a three-pointer. Ivica Zubac connected on a midrange jumper when Larry Nance Jr. found him atop of the key to bring the Lakers within one point.
David Nwaba made a nice defensive play when he intercepted a pass that led to Corey Brewer finding him for the transition slam dunk. Zubac then took over for a brief period by connected on three straight attempts to extend the Lakers lead to six points.
Ingram found Zubac once again for a close basket to continue the Lakers momentum. The Suns finally started to cut into the lead when Booker and Len scored easy baskets that forced Luke Walton to call a timeout and regroup his team.
Booker started to find his stroke as he knocked down a three-pointer to put the Suns ahead by a point. On the next Suns possession, Bledsoe walked up to the three-point line and drilled the long range shot with under two minutes left.
Before the quarter ended Clarkson scored a layup as time expired. The Lakers trail at the end of the second quarter, 63-61.
3rd Quarter
The Lakers started off the quarter well as Russell, Randle, and Black all made shots to put the Lakers up four forcing the Suns to call a timeout. Out of the timeout, TJ Warren knocked down a midrange fadeaway, but Russell responded with a three-pointer of his own on the ensuing possession.
Ingram had a highlight reel play when he passed up an open three-pointer and instead took two dribbles towards the basket and skied over Len for an emphatic slam dunk. After Warren knocked down another jumper, Russell responded with another three-pointer to give him 18 points on the night so far.
Tarik Black extended the Lakers lead to eight points when he hit two free throws with fewer than six minutes remaining in the quarter. Ingram delivered another slam dunk when Russell found him cutting to the basket to put them up 11 points, their largest of the game.
After Booker made a 10-foot jumper, Russell responded once again with long two-point jumper of his own. With the Lakers up nine points, Ingram was fouled on a three-point attempt by Tyler Ulis but made only one of the three free throws.
Alan Williams scored a relatively easy layup not the next possession when Jared Dudley fired a pass to him down by the basket to cut the Lakers lead to eight points. On the ensuing Lakers possession, Randle showed his grit when he fought relentlessly on the offensive glass until he scored the basket. Before the quarter ended, Nance Jr. slammed him a missed shot attempt by Russell to put the Lakers up 90-81 heading into the fourth quarter.
4th Quarter
The Lakers continued the final period where they left off from the third. Nance Jr. and Zubac knocked connected on back-to-back long range two-point jumpers to give them a 14-point lead. After a pair of free throws by the Suns, Nance Jr. showed off his range by drilling a three-pointer, giving him 11 points on the night so far.
With the shot clock winding down, Clarkson worked his way into the paint and knocked down the floater and as the Suns were inbounding th ballers Brewer stole the pass and set up an easy alley oop to Nance Jr. to put the Lakers up 106-92 and force a Phoenix timeout.
The Lakers extended their lead to 18 points on back-to-back baskets by Zubac and Brewer. A Suns turnover resulted in another Randle putback attempt. On the next possession Randle connected on his second three-pointer of the game to force another Suns timeout.
Coming out of the timeout, Chriss scored on three consecutive possessions to cut the lead to 14 points with fewer than four minutes remaining in the quarter. The Suns lead got down to single digits when Warren slammed home the ball to makes things interesting down the stretch. Russell iced the game when he knocked down his sixth three-pointer of the night to put the Lakers up 10 with less than a minute remaining.
The Lakers finally ended their eight-game losing streak by beating the Suns 122-110.
