Nurkic’s 20-rebound effort helps fend off Lakers in Western Conference duel

Highlights

• Phoenix Suns show resilience and depth with role players stepping up big.
• Los Angeles Lakers struggle to match intensity, need to improve bench production.
• Western Conference standings tightened, Lakers must elevate play to avoid Play-In tournament.

The Phoenix Suns picked up a “character-building” win against the Los Angeles Lakers in yesterday’s primetime matinée. Defined by their big 3 of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal, it was Phoenix’s complementary talent who stepped up big time as the team got off to an early advantage that they never relinquished. The Lakers made runs throughout the game, particularly late in the third quarter, but just failed to fully recover.

Playing without Beal, it was a pretty impressive feat for Phoenix to maintain its lead despite Los Angeles periodically trimming the margin. When it came down to it, their execution was just superior; role players stepped up and made huge shots to eventually secure the victory. With the win, the Suns extended their lead in the standings (and playoff picture) over LA. Can the Lakers rebound before it’s too late?

Suns fend off Lakers, ascend Western Conference standings

Grayson Allen, Royce O’Neale, and Jusuf Nurkic combined for 62 points

The story of Phoenix’s 2023-24 campaign has been countless injuries and an inconsistent supporting cast around Booker, Durant, and Beal. Perhaps their lineup has finally turned the corner after reshuffling the roster this past trade deadline.

Grayson Allen and Jusuf Nurkic, two primary starters the entire season, both had magnificent performances against the Lakers. Allen had 24 points and 6 triples, including a critical one to push the lead back to double-digits later in the fourth. In the post-game press conference, Allen noted how it was a big “emphasis game” for Phoenix.

Royce O’Neale and Bol Bol, however, are welcome additions to the rotation who will serve as x-factors for the rest of the season. O’Neale, acquired from the Brooklyn Nets, took full advantage of his first start as a Sun, finishing with 20 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, and a dagger three-pointer that sealed the deal with under two minutes left.

And Bol followed up his 26-point, 14-rebound game versus the Houston Rockets with 11 points off the bench. His consistency is important for a second unit that needs to step up.

On the Lakers side, playing uphill all game is what really doomed their chances of coming away with a win. Once Phoenix’s role players got going, it was an unenviable task to stop them, as well as limit Booker and Durant.

Will the Lakers ever break through as a team in 2023-24?

LA is three and a half games behind the sixth-seed

The theme of the night was LA’s inability to get over the hump versus Phoenix. After cutting the lead to 2 points in the third period, LA faltered, once again, due to poor attention to detail and questionable lineup decisions.

The Suns got off to a hot start once the fourth quarter began, instantly pushing it back to a 10-point advantage. From there, the Lakers scratched and clawed to make things interesting, but O’Neale, Allen, and Phoenix’s all-star duo had enough ammunition to stave them off.

How perfect does LA need to be moving forward? With an upcoming schedule that will undoubtedly test their mettle over the next couple of weeks, they don’t have much room for error.

LeBron James (28 points, 12 assists, 7 rebounds), Anthony Davis (22 points, 14 rebounds, 3 steals), and, even, D’Angelo Russell (20 points, 7 assists, 3 rebounds) played well enough to win, but it still felt like something was missing.

Maybe it’s the continued lack of bench production, though Phoenix only barely outscored them there (19-16). LA also shot a season-low 8 free throws. After the game, James acknowledged the notion around the league that the Lakers get to the line more than anyone but also stated that’s their “identity” as an attacking team.

“We’re not shooting 40, 50 threes a game. We’re not that team, we don’t have the luxury of being that team.”

Overall, LA seems to suffer from a lack of urgency, which could lock them into the Play-In tournament when it’s all said and done. In a way, their game against Phoenix mirrors the current standings: LA got off to a poor start and is constantly fighting to get back into the mix. Their level of focus needs to get sharper as soon as possible. If not, the Lakers will be tethered to the same fate as yesterday afternoon.