After a disappointing showing in their Emirates NBA Cup quarterfinal game, the Los Angeles Lakers had the chance to get back on track when they traveled to take on the Phoenix Suns on Sunday night.
Head coach JJ Redick had a few days to get his team prepared to face a Suns team that recently embarrassed the Lakers on their own home court not too long ago and, while it wasn’t pretty, they did get the job done.
The Lakers’ ratcheted up their defense in the middle quarters, holding the Suns to just 41 combined points in the second and third while going on a 24-0 run at one point. Unfortunately, the Lakers would blow that lead, but were able to pull out the win after LeBron James knocked down a couple free throws to put them back ahead in their 114-112 win.
But despite the late-game collapse, Redick overall was happy with how the Lakers pulled out the victory, noting that he loves winning ugly contests like this, via Dan Woike of The Athletic:
“It’s gonna sound sick: I love winning games like this,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “Wish it had not been a one-possession game, not been down with 12 seconds, like all that stuff. But winning ugly is actually really fun because it means you got in the trenches and you fought, and we did that tonight.”
The Lakers shot just 43% from the field and 19% from 3-point range, but were able to overcome that thanks to doing the dirty work. Redick’s team out-rebounded the Suns 54-37 with 20 of those boards coming on the offensive end while also going to the free throw line 43 times. The Lakers also had 13 steals and eight blocks and forced 19 Suns turnovers, which they converted into 31 points.
With Austin Reaves out, others had to step up and the Lakers got a huge contribution from their bench to help support James and Luka Doncic. As Redick said, to win a game like this meant his team had to really fight and though there were some unnecessarily tense moments, they ultimately got the win which is what matters most.
Deandre Ayton calls Lakers win over Suns emotional
This contest between the Lakers and Suns was a feisty one in which players had to be separated multiple times, though primarily that was between LeBron James and Dillon Brooks, who have history dating back multiple years now. Lakers center Deandre Ayton felt the game was an emotional one and believes the Lakers playing with an edge made the difference.
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