The Lakers took down the Suns 101-73 on Friday night. They clinched home court in the first round of the playoffs thanks to the Rockets losing to the Wolves.
Rui Hachimura started things off for LA with an impressive reverse layup. LeBron James was cooking early for Los Angeles with three 3-pointers and three free throws after he was fouled from behind the arc. He was up to nine points. Mark Williams was leading Phoenix with four points.
At the 7:13 mark, the Lakers were up by three.
At the 7:13 mark,
the Lakers were up by three.
Dillon Brooks got into early foul trouble with three. LeBron continued his aggressive play, pushing his point total to 14, and he had three assists, putting him in the 12,000-career-assists club. Luke Kennard connected with LeBron for an emphatic dunk that rocked the rim.
LA was on a 13-0 scoring run.
The Suns gained some life with two consecutive 3-pointers for a 6-0 scoring run. Kennard responded with a 3-pointer for Los Angeles. At the end of the first, the purple and gold were up by 10.
Royce O’Neale opened up the second period with a layup. The Lakers lost the high energy they had in the first quarter, allowing Phoenix to cut LA’s lead to four. Grayson Allen was now leading the Suns with eight points.
Phoenix was beating Los Angeles on the offensive boards 11 to one.
O’Neale scored a quick four points that put the Suns up by one. Kennard stopped some of the bleeding with a midrange jumper. The Lakers picked up their energy, and their offense clicked again, leading to a 9-2 scoring run.
At the four-minute mark, LA was up by six.
Dillon Brooks and O’Neale had a combined 20 points for the Suns. Brooks was up to four fouls. Los Angeles ended the half strong, thanks to six points from LeBron. He had 22 points in the half. At halftime, LA was up by nine.
Jamaree Bouyea started the third period with a layup for Phoenix. Deandre Ayton responded on the other end with a dunk. Phoenix announced that Allen, who went to the locker room in the first half, was ruled out for the rest of the game with a left hamstring injury.
Both teams went on three-minute scoring droughts, but Hachimura ended LA’s with a 3-pointer.
O’Neale converted on a free throw to give the Suns a point, but their scoring drought had hit six minutes. Amir Coffey stopped what ended up being a seven-minute scoring drought for Phoenix with a layup.
A dunk by Oso Ighodaro forced a timeout by Los Angeles as their lead was now 11. Out of the break, Maxi Kleber was fouled and missed both free throws. On the other end, the Suns missed.
Marcus Smart then scored four in a row. LeBron turned his jets on once more to give the Lakers their biggest lead of the night.
Going into the fourth, LA was up by 17.
The final frame began with a dunk by Jarred Vanderbilt on an assist from LeBron. James also assisted on a baseline cutting dunk by Kleber. At the 6:19 mark, LeBron was subbed out, and the rest of the game was garbage time as Los Angeles cruised to victory.
LeBron finished with 28 points, six rebounds, 12 assists and four steals. Kennard ended with 19 points, three assists and three steals. Hachimura pitched in with 13 points, two rebounds and three assists.
Ayton had 10 points with five rebounds. Smart notched six points with five rebounds, seven assists and two steals. Vanderbilt logged six points with seven rebounds.
The Lakers’ last game of the season will be Sunday against the Utah Jazz at 5:30 PM PT.
You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.
