Game Recap: Suns have their first winning streak of the season, beating the Lakers 109-105

Phoenix is developing an identity, and it’s on the defensive end.

The Phoenix Suns now find themselves at 3-1 on the season after a win against the Los Angeles Lakers. It was the second time they played the team in four days, and after losing on Friday, they backed it up with a 109-105 win in front of a sold-out Footprint Center. The team has their first winning streak of the season after downing the Mavs on Saturday.

The Lakers led by as much as 18 as Anthony Davis imposed his will early, playing Jusuf Nurkic off the court. But Phoenix upped their defensive intensity and outscored Los Angeles 101-79 after being down 18 points.

Phoenix was led by 33 points from Devin Booker, who went 11-of-23 on the night, including 3-of-8 from deep. Kevin Durant added 30 points on 11-of-20 shooting, and Bradley Beal had 15 points. So that’s — punches calculator — 78 points from the Big Three.

Anthony Davis was his typical beast self, scoring 29 points, with Austin Reaves annoyingly getting 23. LeBron had a quiet offensive night, going 3-of-14 shooting for 11 points. You can credit the hard-nosed defense of Ryan Dunn.

The Suns had an off night from deep, hitting 11-of-36 from beyond the arc (30.6%), but 4 steals and 5 blocks in the second half helped them seal the deal.

Phoenix hands Los Angeles their first loss on the season and move to 3-1 on the season with the win.

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Game Flow

First Half

The first question prior to tip-off: would Bradley Beal be starting after missing the game against the Dallas Mavericks or would it be Ryan Dunn? You answer: Bradley Beal.

We’ll save the “should Ryan Dunn be a starter” debate for another day, shall we?

Los Angeles opened the game looking sharper than the Suns, executing well to jump out to a 17-6 lead by leveraging an effective inside-out game. While Phoenix struggled to find their range, starting 0-of-4 from deep, the Lakers hit 2 of their first 4 attempts and turned both Suns’ turnovers into 4 quick points.

Anthony Davis was cooking early, exploiting the Suns’ lack of athleticism on the interior, scoring 11 of their first 21 points at will. After every missed Suns shot — which was plenty as they began 4-of-13 — the Lakers were getting out and running, making Phoenix pay.

It was 23-8 Lakers in no time.

Every starter on the Lakers had an assist. The Suns had yet to record one. Los Angeles was outrebounding Phoenix 13-2.

The energy shifted when the reserves were put in the game. Royce O’Neale, Mason Plumlee, Grayson Allen, and Monte Morris joined Kevin Durant on the floor and the team scored some points, although AD couldn’t be stopped. At one point it was Phoenix 17, Davis 16.

After a rough start, Phoenix found their rhythm toward the end of the first, outscoring the Lakers 15-5 as Beal and Durant knocked down threes. KD closed the quarter with 12 points, but despite the team’s 22.2% shooting from beyond the arc, they still trailed 34-25 after one.

Ryan Dunn entered the game and made an instant impact. A keen defensive contest of LeBron James on one end, a driving layup on the other. The kid makes winning plays. It was infections. Next thing you know Bradley Beal was making double-handed stuffs of Rui Hachimura.

After a steal on the following inbounds and Booker’s first hit from deep, it was a two-point game.

Phoenix found themselves stalled at 34 points for an extended stretch, despite solid defensive efforts. The score remained locked at 41-34 for three minutes of game time until Max Christie finally broke through with a three.

From there, Phoenix surged with a 16-7 run to close the half, with Devin Booker pouring in 14 points in the quarter to lift the Suns to a 50-48 lead. Booker led the team with 18 points at the half, despite their struggles from beyond the arc, shooting just 5-of-19 (26.3%) in the half.

The Suns held the Lakers to 14 points in the second.

Second Half

The third quarter opened with Tyus Jones swiping the ball from Anthony Davis for a quick layup, setting the tone for a back-and-forth stretch where both teams traded mini-runs. Devin Booker scored 4 quick points as the Suns capitalized on missed Lakers shots, pushing the pace. Six minutes into the quarter, the Lakers had already matched their second-quarter output with 14 points, and an 8-0 run put them up 70-66 with 4:45 remaining.

Kevin Durant contributed 10 points in the quarter, and the Suns went 3-of-7 from deep, but the Lakers shot an impressive 6-of-8 from three, with Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell, and Rui Hachimura each hitting two apiece.

Phoenix allowed 35 points in the quarter while scoring 26 of their own, ending the third down 83-76.

The fourth opened with a corner three from Ryan Dunn over LeBron. Just… beautiful. A transition layup by Beal after a steal later, and it was once again a two-point game. Phoenix opened the quarter on a 10-1 run.

The Footprint erupted after Dunn made a fastbreak layup, stars at his hand, and then screamed into the crowd. His teammate Kevin Durant was impressed.

With 8:22 left, the Suns trailed by just 4 points. Anthony Davis, who had been on the bench, re-entered after a timeout and immediately went to work inside, drawing fouls on consecutive possessions and getting to the line. He capped a 6-0 run after his return, putting the Lakers up by two.

For those worried about Booker, he hit 30+ points on the night.

Austin Reaves was a thorn in the Suns’ side, as he was the last time they met. Floppin’ around, jumping into contact. I swear, the NBA has adjusted their rules as it pertains to offensive players creating contact, but somehow Reaves has immunity. A crucial four-point play drew just the first foul on Dunn.

With the game tied at 101 and 3:18 remaining, Kevin Durant sank a signature 16-footer, then followed it with a turnaround 7-footer. LeBron quickly responded with a three-pointer. After a crucial offensive rebound by Mason Plumlee, Royce O’Neale hit a floater to put Phoenix up by three.

Plumlee then delivered solid defense against Anthony Davis, but a shot clock violation by Phoenix gave the Lakers the ball, down three, with 40.5 seconds left.

The closing lineup by the Suns? Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, Royce O’Neale, and Ryan Dunn. Austin Reaves was tasked with taking the three. But he missed. Devin Booker was credited with the defensive rebound, although Ryan Dunn is the one who initially grabbed it.

Phoenix ran the clock as long as they could, forced to take a long Royce three, which was missed. A double foul on Beal and Reaves was called on the rebound attempt, so it was Laker ball with 7.9 left and inbounding in the front court. KD fouled LeBron on the inbound, sending him to the line.

LeBron hit the first and tried to miss the second on purpose. He succeeded, but Royce O’Neale got the board. With 0.8, Beal was fouled, where he knocked down both, icing the game.

Suns win, 109-105.

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You thought we were done with L.A.? Nope, not yet! The Suns play their fourth divisional game of the season on Thursday, heading back to the Wall and Intuit Dome to take on the Los Angeles Clippers on Halloween.

We’ll see you then!

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