NBA: The Suns stay hot, handing the Lakers a tough loss at home

Los Angeles, California - The Phoenix Suns continue to be the best team in the NBA with a masterful win over the struggling Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.

Suns center Deandre Ayton chipped in with 19 points against the Lakers.
Suns center Deandre Ayton chipped in with 19 points against the Lakers.  © IMAGO/ZUMA Wire

The Suns dominated the Lakers 108-90 for their fourth win in a row and sixth win over the last seven games.

The Lakers, on the other hand, have now dropped their last three straight games.

The first half had the two teams playing very close, with action that made both squads appear evenly matched.

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While both teams enjoyed decent single-digit leads, the opposition would keep the game close in both the first and second quarters. Going into halftime, the Suns were up just 54-52.

The Lakers started to fade as the second half progressed, falling victim to poor ball control and even poorer shooting. LA finished the game with just under 40% shooting as a team overall.

The Lakers scored only 21 in the third quarter and 17 in the fourth as the Suns stayed hot to pull away with an easy double-digit win.

The player spotlight

Devin Booker led Phoenix with 24 points on Tuesday night.
Devin Booker led Phoenix with 24 points on Tuesday night.  © IMAGO/ZUMA Wire

Suns shooting guard Devin Booker (25) hasn’t seemed to miss a step in his second game back from an injured Achilles tendon.

Despite previously missing seven games with his injury, Booker still leads the team with 23 points per game.

More impressively, he didn’t even have to play in the fourth quarter to lead his team in scoring on Tuesday night.

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Booker finished the game with 8-for-16 shooting from the field for a team-high 24 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists.

The big picture

LeBron James led all scorers on Tuesday night with 34 points.
LeBron James led all scorers on Tuesday night with 34 points.  © IMAGO/ZUMA Wire

The supposedly star-studded Lakers have just lost their third-straight game and sit at 16-16, seventh in the Western Conference.

With eight former All-Stars on the team, the Lakers aren’t where anyone thought they’d be at this point of the season.

They’ve suffered an unfortunate injury to big man Anthony Davis that’ll keep him out for at least four weeks, so naturally, LeBron James has been doing much of the work.

He led all scorers with 34 points on Tuesday night, but the team almost lost him to a potential ankle injury that he thankfully walked off on his own.

As long as LeBron stays healthy, the team can still have a chance to finally be contenders if their other stars step it up to help James carry the team back to greatness.

On Thursday, the Suns will be back at home to take on the Thunder, while the Lakers will stay at home to face the Spurs.

Cover photo: IMAGO/ZUMA Wire

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