After picking up a road win over the Golden State Warriors on Thursday, the Los Angeles Lakers returned home and hosted the Phoenix Suns in the second night of a back-to-back in their penultimate regular season game.
Both teams were missing key pieces in this one, but it was an important game for the Lakers as they look to secure home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. With that being the case, they took care of business with a 101-73 victory to earn their 52nd win of the season. The Houston Rockets also lost earlier in the night, which means the Lakers have clinched a top-four seed and home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
LeBron James got the Lakers off to a great start as he had 11 early points, including a pair of 3-pointers and three free throws after getting fouled by Dillon Brooks on another triple attempt. Luke Kennard then got in on the action with a four-point play and a beautiful pass to James for a dunk to put the Lakers up 24-14.
The Lakers’ hot shooting continued as Rui Hachimura and Kennard both hit 3s, giving them a 33-24 lead at the end of the first quarter.
L.A. cooled off significantly to begin the second as the Suns went on a 12-2 run to take their first lead. Phoenix was dominating the offensive glass, which has been a major issue for the Lakers as of late.
From there though, the Lakers started to get back on track as Kennard continued his big offensive night while Deandre Ayton had a putback inside. After another scoring flurry from James to end the half, the Lakers went into the locker room with a 57-48 lead.
The Suns’ lack of offensive talent on the floor really showed early in the third quarter as the Lakers locked in defensively to get the lead back to double digits.
Marcus Smart, who had his return to the lineup after missing the last nine games, had back-to-back layups and then back-to-back assists as L.A. kept extending the lead, taking an 81-64 advantage into the fourth.
At that point, the Suns did not want to risk any more injuries so they sat all of their key players that were suited up for the fourth quarter. James and Co. kept pouring it on, cruising to the easy win at Crypto.com Arena.
What’s next for the Lakers…
The Lakers will close out the regular season on Sunday evening against the Utah Jazz before getting nearly a week off to prepare for their first-round playoff matchup.
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