Coming into Thursday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers, the Phoenix Suns were struggling. Losing four of their last five, they shot under 38% in their four contests since the All-Star break ended. Their lone win was the first time a team had won a game since 2023 when shooting worse than 35% from the field. On top of all the struggles, the team is decimated. Their top two scorers, Devin Booker and Dillon Brooks, remain out, while Jordan Goodwin, one of the team’s most reliable bench players and defenders,
is also sidelined.
Despite the struggles and injuries, the Suns had a lot at stake going into Thursday’s game. Obviously, any game against a division rival carries some inherent stakes, even when divisions are essentially irrelevant in the standings, as they are in the NBA, but the matchup had massive seeding implications.
The two teams are neck and neck in the standings. Before the game, the Lakers were two games ahead of the Suns for the final playoff spot, the last one that avoids the play-in tournament, where just two bad games can derail an overall strong season.
With the two teams playing at least five times this year because of their In-Season Tournament finishes, one will have the clear tiebreaker, which is uncommon when many teams play each other four times in a season.
Going into Thursday, the Suns were up 2-1 in the season series, but Thursday’s game was the last time the two will face off in Phoenix during the regular season. Phoenix wins around 60% of their games at home, while they’re a .500 team on the road. With a win, the Suns would secure the season series over an opponent they are close to in the standings.
To start the game, the Suns struck first, going up early, taking a 17-9 lead. Then Los Angeles responded, controlling the rest of the first, until the Suns took the first double-digit lead of the second. Going into halftime, the game was tied at 49, and coming out of the third, the Lakers went on an 11-0 run. The Phoenix offense looked like it did just two nights ago against the Boston Celtics to start the second half: cold and unable to hit shots. They scored just 11 points in the third against their 97-81 loss to the Celtics on Thursday.
As Phoenix struggled, Grayson Allen had different plans. Coming in off the bench early in the third, Allen became a human flamethrower, scoring 16 points and hitting four threes in the quarter. Phoenix turned what was once a 12-point lead into an 80-80 game with 12 minutes left.
In the fourth quarter, the Suns got up big until Luka Dončić did what he typically does to the Suns: cook them. Just like Phoenix had done earlier in the game, the Lakers turned a double-digit deficit into a tie game. With 22 seconds left and the game knotted 110-110, Phoenix had the ball and a chance to win the game, and Royce O’Neale took advantage of the opportunity.
After a night of ups and downs, coming in shorthanded and playing the Lakers, who were nearly at full strength, Phoenix pulled out the victory. Allen and Collin Gillespie led the way, and O’Neale hit the dagger, but many who aren’t typical contributors had big games. Rasheer Fleming had his best game as a pro with his 8-point third, and newcomer Amir Coffey chipped in a few triples.
Phoenix is now just one game back of the Lakers for the sixth spot and secured the season series, something that could be crucial for the final standings. The Suns now have four days until their next game, where they’ll face the Sacramento Kings, who have lost 16 of their last 18 games. Devin Booker could be back playing by then.
Considering the stakes, the injuries, and the mental resilience the Suns needed, was Thursday the Suns’ best win of the season?
