The Los Angeles Lakers hosted the Phoenix Suns in their fourth of six preseason games on Sunday night, looking to earn their first win.
As has been the case in every preseason game so far, the Lakers were without some key players with LeBron James, Talen Horton-Tucker and Malik Monk sitting out while the Suns were without Devin Booker. The result was another lackluster performance for the Lakers, who fell to 0-4 in the preseason after a 123-94 loss.
Slow starts have become a theme for the Lakers this preseason and that was again the case in this one. The Suns started off slow too though, so when Anthony Davis knocked down a three and then converted a layup for the Lakers’ first five points, they were only down one.
Everything seemed to be going Phoenix’s way early as Deandre Ayton even knocked down a three, giving them a double-digit lead. Davis knocked down another bucket to give him seven first-quarter points and Carmelo Anthony knocked down a late three, but L.A. still trailing by one after one quarter at 28-18.
The clock got turned back in the second quarter as Chris Paul and Anthony exchanged a few buckets. Russell Westbrook even got in on the action by knocking down a pair of threes, cutting into the Lakers’ deficit.
Davis then re-entered the game and continued the run by getting to the free-throw line at will. He also converted a monster poster dunk to cap off a 13-0 and help L.A. regain the lead at 41-40.
The Suns finished the quarter strong though and took a seven-point lead into the halftime locker room after Landry Shamet drained a three to beat the buzzer.
As was the case in his debut, Westbrook was a bit careless with the ball as a few early second-half turnovers gave him nine in the game midway through the third quarter.
The Suns took advantage of those turnovers to go on a 23-7 run to stretch their lead to 21, the largest of the game.
It was Anthony who finally broke that run with a three, his fifth of the night, although at that point the game was essentially out of reach as the Suns eventually took a 24-point lead into the fourth quarter.
With cuts coming in the next few days, Frank Vogel emptied his bench in the fourth quarter, getting perhaps a final look at some of their Exhibit 10 guys.
Players like Austin Reaves and Trevelin Queen showed some flashes, but other than that, it was a fairly uneventful fourth quarter.
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