Deandre Ayton faced off against his former team the Phoenix Suns, but unfortunately he and the Los Angeles Lakers wound up taking a 125-108 loss.
It was a tough night for all the Lakers players, including Ayton who finished with just 12 points and nine rebounds. Ayton had hurt his knee the night prior against the New Orleans Pelicans, and while he looked fine physically Los Angeles had no rhythm or flow against Phoenix.
The Suns were shorthanded and lost Devin Booker mid game, but simply outworked the Lakers throughout the evening.
Ayton attributed the loss to fatigue, lack of communication and Dillon Brooks getting hot from the field.
“I feel like there was a little bit of fatigue but not as much communication on the defensive end and it kind of got to us,” Ayton said. “We gotta just be better in transition. Hats off to Dillon Brooks and how aggressive he played. We didn’t really have an answer for him and how he was posting up and getting high percentage looks during the game.”
While Ayton acknowledged he never felt like Los Angeles was out of it, he admitted that Phoenix played like they wanted to win more.
“I never really have that feeling, but they definitely gave us a glimpse of that they’re the more aggressive team and when calls started going their way, by the time we reached the third, it was really too late to try to change the game around with the momentum they had,” he said. “They were in our paint a lot too, they made some tough shots as well. I just felt like they were more together and they wanted it more.”
The Lakers have been prone to being uncompetitive on certain nights, and this felt like a perfect example of that. The Suns have worn down teams this season with their aggressive and physical style of play, so it was no surprise to see them take advantage of mistakes.
Los Angeles should be better moving forward, but the team needs to be more disciplined on both ends of the floor. Ayton is a huge part of the Lakers’ winning ways up to this point, so it’ll be interesting to see how he and the group respond.
Luka Doncic and LeBron James commend Deandre Ayton
Deandre Ayton has excelled with the Lakers, a promising development given his lackluster years with the Portland Trail Blazers. Luka Doncic and LeBron James have noticed how hard Ayton’s played and commended him for his efforts.
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