Los Angeles Lakers Easily Handle Phoenix Suns, 125-100

The Los Angeles Lakers didn’t have any problems against the Phoenix Suns tonight at the Staples and they’ve posted their 40th win of the season. The final result of this contest was 125-100 for the purple and gold, who are continuing their chase for the No.1 place in the Western Conference.

“We took care of the ball better; we didn’t force it inside as we did the last game and we were more careful with our passing. That is the No.1 thing. … and we did a good job on Devin tonight,” Frank Vogel explained why his team won this clash.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAoPwkM-3RE

The Suns were competitive only until the end of the first period, once they trailed one point, 31-30. The Lakers opened the second period with an 8-0 run, and continued to pound before getting a 15-point edge, 49-34.

Lakers encountered the same situation like against the Rockets, as Suns too tried to play small-ball basketball. Only this time, Vogel and his boys were ready for it. They used mismatches much better, while on the defensive side on the ball, the rotation on the rivals was much faster and precise.

“Obviously, when they go small, we tried to take advantage of the mismatches,” said Antony Davis. “I had a better job tonight than with Houston.”

AD ended the night with 25 points, and 10 rebounds along with 5 assists. The guy who helped him a lot was Rajon Rondo. The veteran point guard posted 23 points in 27 minutes, adding 6 assists and dropping four threes.

“Tonight he let it fly man,” said Davis. “We let him fly, he was shooting the ball extremely well.”

LeBron had a relaxing night. King James scored 17 points but added 9 assists and 8 boards in 30 minutes. He was more into passing than scoring, and as time went by, Vogel decided to pull him out and save him for future challenges.

Dwight Howard had a notable role. Superman scored 14 points and had 15 boards, not missing a single of his 6 shots.

“Just trying to do whatever I can to help this team win and play as hard as I can,” Howard explained to Mike Trudell following the event.

Among the Suns, Miles Bridges scored 18 points and had six boards. Cheick Diallo posted 15 buckets, and Ricky Rubio and Jevon Carter had 13.

One of the best shooters in the league, Devin Booker, ended the night with just 10 points, shooting 2-for-11 from the field. Booker couldn’t score a single three in four attempts. The Lakers did an excellent job keeping him restrained and frustrated by changing several guards on him throughout the event.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjulsAS0rfA

In the last few weeks we’ve heard multiple stories about his alleged unhappiness in Arizona. so it will be interesting to see what happens next with one of the biggest talents in the NBA.

With this loss, the Suns are now sitting at 21-33. Up next, they are meeting the Golden State Warriors at home this Wednesday, and after that, travel to Canada to meet the champions, Toronto Raptors, next Friday. That is the first of three road-matches, as they clash with the Bulls and the Jazz afterward.

The Lakers (40-12) have a big match against the Nuggets in Colorado coming up this Wednesday. Jokic and the guys are in pursuit of them, and the result from this contest could have a massive impact on the standings in the end. After that, LAL has three straight events at home, against the Grizzlies, Celtics, and the Pelicans.