Lakers come alive in fourth-quarter comeback win over Suns
PHOENIX — The Los Angeles Lakers’ fourth-quarter comeback surge helped move them back to the win column, beating the Phoenix Suns 122–119 on Friday to snap a three-game skid.
The Lakers are now 1–0 in the Group A standings of the in-season tournament.
Their next three tournament games will be at home against the Memphis Grizzlies on Nov. 14, at Portland against the Trail Blazers on Nov. 17 and back at home against the Utah Jazz on Nov. 21
Head coach Darvin Ham took a different approach to the starting unit coming into the matchup, starting Cam Reddish for Austin Reaves to come off the bench.
Ham noted that Reaves’ move to the bench was not a demotion but a realignment. This notion and exact wording were the same a season ago when Ham made a similar move for Russell Westbrook.
The Lakers were in a deficit for the first three quarters, with an 89-96 score going into the fourth quarter. The Suns answer every Lakers bucket behind a big game from Kevin Durant, who finished with 38 points.
The turning point for L.A. came at the right moment midway in the fourth quarter, stealing the lead for the first time since the first quarter.
The Lakers used their surging momentum to finish out the fourth quarter, outscoring Phoenix 33–23.
It looked like another struggling shooting night for the Lakers, who shot 30% (3/10) from three going into the half. But the Lakers fourth quarter turnaround erased those numbers, finishing the night 12-for-27 from deep for 44.4%.
The high-shooting night from behind the arc was thanks to a bounce-back performance from Cam Reddish. He finished with 17 points on 5-for-8 shooting from three-point range.
“Bron told me he believes in me, man. I just had to remember that and just shoot my shots with confidence and knock ’em down.” Reddish said.
LeBron James, 38, continued his consistent performance by lifting the Lakers team throughout the game.
LeBron finished with a team-high 32 points on an efficient 3-for-4 shooting from three and 11-of-17 overall, notching 11 rebounds and six assists in 36 minutes.
During the first half, LeBron accidentally bumped his left leg with Durant’s shin, and it was “pretty sore right now,” but he was able to play through it.
Throughout the matchup, it looked like Anthony Davis wasn’t playing at his full strength, possibly still not at 100% from his hip spasm that forced him to miss the previous game.
“Felt it a couple of times throughout the course of the game, but for the most part, it felt fine,” Davis said on his hip.
Davis finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds on a 5-for-14 (35.7%) shooting night in his 36 minutes of action.
Reaves took the move from the starting unit to the bench like a professional, not letting it affect his impact and welcoming the move for the betterment of the team.
“My parents taught me at a young age that the coach is the coach, and regardless of the decision, you respect that,” Reaves said on his change.
Reaves finished with 15 points and seven assists, with an efficient 2-for-4 (50%) shooting from deep and 6-for-11 (54.5%) overall.
The Lakers' next matchup is scheduled for this Sunday, Nov. 12, at 7 p.m. against the Trail Blazers.
