The Los Angeles Lakers returned home after a grueling four-game road trip and looked to get back to their winning ways following a losing streak.
Luka Doncic tallied 33 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, Austin Reaves had 28 points and the Lakers snapped a four-game slide by earning a 107-96 win over the Phoenix Suns on Sunday afternoon at Crypto.com Arena.
“The trip was very tough. We didn’t win a single game, so it was a very difficult trip. But coming home was nice,” said Doncic. “Everyone got to see their families and be at home for a bit. I think that gave us a little more motivation to win this game.”
LeBron James (left groin strain) remained out for a fourth consecutive game while he continued to ramp up towards a return to the lineup. Rui Hachimura (knee) also missed his ninth straight game for Los Angeles (41-25).
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Jaxson Hayes returned to the Lakers after missing four games with knee soreness and tied a season-high 19 points, to go along with six rebounds and three assists.
“You can see the difference for me. It helps me a lot, but he helps the whole team… We missed him, for sure,” Doncic said.
Kevin Durant led Phoenix (31-37) with 21 points and Devin Booker had 19, as the Suns stars combined to shoot 12-of-34 shots from the field.
“We knew we had to do better. We knew we had to be more physical and I think our defense was amazing today from start to finish,” said Doncic.
Bradley Beal left the game with hamstring soreness in the first half and was unable to return after scoring four points early in the game.
“He was trying to push through,” said Suns guard Tyus Jones on Beal.
The Lakers jumped out to a 31-15 lead in the first quarter and used a 23-2 run that was capped by a Gabe Vincent three-pointer with 1:21 left in the period.
“We’ve had some terrible starts and it’s frustrating. We showed we can do the right thing sometimes and then, sometimes we don’t,” said Booker.
Phoenix struggled from three-point range on 9-of-41 attempts while Los Angeles made 14-of-39 shots from long-distance.
Doncic had 17 points and six assists at halftime while the Lakers led 54-37.
Hayes caught an alley-oop dunk from Doncic to start the second half and Doncic drained a step-back three to give Los Angeles a 59-39 lead less than two minutes into the third period.
“Man, that’s the best point guard in the league,” said Hayes on Doncic.
Jones converted a three-pointer to get the Suns within nine. Reaves responded by draining a huge four-point play on the next possession to extend their lead back 89-76 with 8:57 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Phoenix was unable to make a late push from over the final nine minutes of play and Los Angeles was able to win its seventh consecutive game at home.
“On-court chemistry is a real thing. Anytime that you can log more minutes together, you’re gonna figure out how to play with one another,” said Reaves.
The Lakers will continue its five-game homestand hosting the Denver Nuggets (43-25) on Wednesday.
