The Phoenix Suns defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 132 to 108 for their 16th win of the season on Tuesday. Dillon Brooks led the team with 25 points and Devin Booker chipped in 21 in his first full game shooting over 50% from the field in over a month. All five starters scored in double figures and Jamaree Bouyea chipped in 14 over the bench.
Luka Dončić missed the contest for the Lakers and the Suns took advantage. Phoenix forced the Lakers into offensive droughts and the team’s 45 points in the third
quarter was the most they’ve scored in a single quarter all season.
While LeBron James and Dillon Brooks didn’t have the back-and-forth they did when the two teams faced off nine days ago, Brooks had some fun throughout the contest. He dropped his shimmy after hitting a three in the team’s hot third quarter.
The Suns finish the month 2-1 against the Lakers and win their final home game of 2025. Phoenix is now 2.5 games out of the sixth seed in the Western Conference.
Game Flow
First Half
The two teams traded baskets to start, including Dillon Brooks and LeBron James. Phoenix was getting out in transition while Los Angeles was doing their damage in the half court.
With the Lakers second-leading scorer Austin Reaves in his first game back, he came off the bench for Los Angeles and the Suns’ second-unit limited him in his first minutes in 13 days. Coming off a calf injury, the Suns went at him on defense and Jamaree Bouyea was able to get a quick six points.
After one, the Suns led the Lakers 29-26.
With Booker on the bench, Phoenix’s offensive effort was a team one to start the second, mainly featuring Bouyea and Collin Gillespie. Ryan Dunn had a thunderous slam.
Getting into the bonus early into the frame, the Lakes hung around with their contributions at the charity stripe and Austin Reaves starting to get it going after a slow first quarter.
With the majority of the starting lineup in midway through the second, Phoenix worked on spreading the ball around helping match Reaves’ hot scoring. After 24 the Suns were up 67-57.
Second Half
Phoenix started the third with a 10-2 run, leading to an early JJ Redick timeout. The Suns shortly then got the lead up to three, and Phoenix was moving the ball around like they were in the first half. It took Phoenix just 3:57 to score 22 points in the quarter. Dillon Brooks was having himself a quarter, including plays you’ll probably see on his end-of-season highlight reel. Unsurprisingly, he enjoyed scoring on LeBron James.
Brooks finished the third with 12 points and the Suns dropped 45 points on the Lakers, the most they’ve scored in a singular quarter this season.
The Lakers were not getting back in transition fast, and the Suns were taking advantage of it. Phoenix’s lead was never challenged. After three the Suns led 112-86.
While the Suns didn’t clear the bench, Collin Gillespie was the only Phoenix starter in the game at the beginning of the fourth. Shortly after, Phoenix started to bring in the reserves, including Rasheer Fleming, Khaman Maluach and Nigel Hayes-Davis, who all got their first run since December 10th.
The Suns cruised to an easy win while the starters got to rest and the reserves got some minutes.
Up Next
The Suns don’t play again until after Christmas, as they take on the Pelicans in back-to-back games on December 26 and 27.
