PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns really needed a win like Tuesday’s 132-108 final against the Los Angeles Lakers, a convincing clinic on offense that allowed the game’s flow to enter cruise control for the final 18 minutes and let Phoenix relax through a victory for the first time in three weeks.
“These are tricky games, right before the holidays, people in town — lot of stuff going on where it’s easy to lose your focus, (but) that’s not what this group does,” Suns head coach Jordan Ott said. “Every night they bring the juice, they bring the energy.”
With just a few minutes gone by in the third quarter, the Suns extended their lead to 22, and all five starters were already in double figures. After shooting 58.7% in the first half, Phoenix made 11 of its first 13 shots to buffer the lead up to 27 at 5:22 to go in the period.
The Lakers, not necessarily the most resilient bunch as it is, were without Luka Doncic (lower left leg contusion) and had Austin Reaves (right calf strain) on a minutes restriction. As was the case with the Suns’ rout of L.A. on Dec. 1, once Phoenix presented the Lakers with real adversity, they folded and were more than OK to just move onto the next game mentally.
Phoenix shot 59% in the game, 41% from 3 and had 35 assists.
Devin Booker contributed 11 of those with 21 points while Dillon Brooks added 25 and Collin Gillespie provided 16 points with eight assists.
It has been a topsy-turvy month. It started with that Lakers rout before it was either blowout losses (Houston and Oklahoma City) or super-tight finishes that came down to the final possession. The Suns had played three straight of the latter, so this was a welcome win in many ways.
Tuesday marked one of five home games on the schedule in the next 33 days. Phoenix will celebrate Christmas then head to New Orleans for what kicks off 12 of the next 16 contests on the road. While it’s lighter competition, there’s still some real tests in there too, specifically after the following five games.
With the Suns regressing in some key categories the last month, this was a nice stabilizing victory and they’ll need to keep that proper footing over the next two weeks while remaining to wait on Jalen Green (right hamstring strain).
No Grayson Allen (right knee injury management) for the third straight game is also a concern.
This was a major bounce-back game for Mark Williams, who has not looked like himself this month. Like the team, it’s unclear whether that should be attributed more to difficult matchups or his own play. Regardless, he had 18 points, nine rebounds, two assists and two blocks in 21 minutes. Booker called him “unbelievable” on Tuesday and the Suns did a great job looking for him throughout the evening.
“We’re still finding that chemistry and the times where he has a mismatch. … He’s an extreme talent, he does all the little things for us so we have to find ways to reward him,” Booker said.
The most interesting subplot of this game once the Suns blew it open was if Brooks would log a rebound, assist, steal, block or turnover. He had five zeroes in those columns on the box score at halftime, and while he scored 12 of his 25 points in the third quarter, Brooks did not amount to any of those other statistics. With the Suns at a 26-point lead entering the final frame, it was right on the edge of if we’d see Brooks back in the game.
The Lakers never mounted a rally, so he got his rest and sealed in the rare feat. Since the NBA started tracking turnovers in the late 1970s, a stat line of 20-plus points with five zeroes has been done just 19 times, including Brooks’ efforts on Tuesday, per Stahtead. He was an efficient 10-of-15 from the field.
Brooks confirmed a few people gave him a hard time, particularly for the rebounds. Booker was aware and with a grin compared it to something J.R. Smith would do.
Two-way signing Jamaree Bouyea continues to be a revelation off the bench. He is a walking bucket with zero fear of attacking the right matchup in 1-on-1 if he’s got the space for it, and teams better start recognizing that by putting a proper on-ball defender on him. For now, he’s who opponents are trying to hide weaker defenders on. Bouyea cooked Reaves three times in the first half and ended up with 14 points.
Bouyea is on his fifth team in three years, still trying to stick. Booker admitted he did not know of Bouyea before the Suns signed him.
Booker’s reaction when he saw Bouyea play for the first time?
“Surprised,” Booker said.
Bouyea is shooting 40-for-66 (60.6%) this season.
The Lakers were also down rotation players Rui Hachimura (right groin soreness) and Gabe Vincent (lumbar back strain). LeBron James led the way with 23 points and six assists, briefly looking like his dominant self in the second quarter. But Los Angeles never had its gears spinning offensively, was a mess defensively and Reaves was limited to 22 minutes, scoring 17 points in them.
