The Los Angeles Lakers cruised to a 107-96 win over the Phoenix Suns at residence on Sunday, breaking a four-game dropping streak with the assistance of one other dominant Luka Dončić efficiency.
With the victory, L.A. picked up its first win since LeBron James was sidelined with a groin pressure, having misplaced three straight with out James on the courtroom. James is anticipated to overlook a minimum of one other week with the harm.
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Los Angeles led for many of the recreation, selecting up a lead within the first quarter and by no means actually trying again. Though the Suns received a little bit of momentum within the second quarter to shut the hole, the Lakers pulled away once more, ending the half with a 17-point lead.
Phoenix did its greatest to combat again, getting inside single-digits behind a second-half surge from Kevin Durant. Within the closing minutes, Phoenix received inside eight factors, however could not fairly dig in for the win as L.A. pulled away once more.
Dončić led each groups with 33 factors, 11 rebounds and eight assists, with Austin Reaves chipping in a strong 28-point efficiency to guide the Lakers to the win.
With a 31-37 report, the Suns are at the moment on the skin trying in for a postseason berth, with solely 14 video games left within the season. That strain may be beginning to weigh on the workforce: Throughout a primary quarter huddle, Durant was noticed having a seemingly heated trade with head coach Mike Budenholzer.
KD and Mike Budenholzer exchanging phrases through the timeout 😳
(by way of @TSN_Sports)pic.twitter.com/pIUB7mUxLY
— Yahoo Sports activities (@YahooSports) March 16, 2025
It is unclear precisely what Durant and Budenholzer had been speaking about, however pressure has been excessive between the 2 for the previous few weeks. The Suns have misplaced 5 of their final eight video games for the reason that begin of March; on Sunday, capturing was a specific drawback for Phoenix, particularly past the arc: Phoenix went 9 of 41 on 3-point capturing.
As for the Lakers, adjusting to taking part in with out James has been tough, particularly with the workforce’s different starters coping with accidents. Rui Hachimura has missed a number of video games with a knee harm; Dončić and Jaxson Hayes each missed the Lakers’ loss to the Denver Nuggets on Friday.
Early within the fourth quarter, Dončić was noticed on the sideline with an ice pack on his proper ankle after an ungainly collision earlier within the recreation. However he returned to the courtroom quickly afterward, indicating the harm wasn’t too extreme.
L.A. is now 41-25, tied with 4 different Western Convention groups within the loss column. The Lakers have performed two video games lower than these golf equipment although, that means the workforce has a couple of further probabilities to tug themselves into higher playoff place earlier than the season ends.
