The Phoenix Suns beat the Los Angeles Lakers with an impressive performance. Devin Booker led his team to a 99:90 win in Game 1 of the first round of playoffs in his playoff debut. Here are the highlights!
Booker scored 34 points (13/26 FG) in his first playoff game, setting a franchise record: never before had a Suns player scored so many points on his playoff debut. There were also 8 assists, especially since Booker had to take over many playmaking duties from Chris Paul (7 points, 8 assists). Although Paul was on the court for 36 minutes, he was visibly restricted with a bruised shoulder after a fall in the second quarter.
Strong at the Suns was Deandre Ayton, who also made his first playoff game and came to 21 counters (10/11) and 16 rebounds. He overshadowed the well-known counterparts at the Lakers, who had six players in double figures, but did not convince as a team. LeBron James led his team with 18 points and 10 assists, Dennis Schröder was the second best point collector of the guests with 14.
Both coaches were able to draw on unlimited resources, so all the stars at the Lakers were also fit. Phoenix initially made the better impression. Ayton in particular was staged a few times and already got 10 points in the first quarter, Booker added 9 and didn’t seem nervous at all on his playoff debut. After the first round, the Suns were ahead with 32:25.
Phoenix maintained this lead in the second quarter as well, although there was a moment of shock when when Paul went down and had to go into the cabin with problems on the shoulder. The point guard was allowed to continue, however, and in the meantime the Suns hadn’t given themselves any nakedness thanks to the increasingly strong booker. The break started at 53:45.
Cameron Payne flies into a scuffle with Montrezl Harrell
In the third round, the Suns were ahead with up to 15 points. Booker now went to the free-throw line more often, with the Lakers still no rhythm to be found at the front. After a Schröder layup they were on 7 counters, but before the final quarter the Suns were able to break away again to 81:68.
In the last section there was an early tussle after Paul fouled James on the rebound and then Payne clashed with Caruso and Harrell. After a long investigation, Payne had to leave the court while the two Lakers got technical fouls. James was able to continue, but his shoulder was probably in pain. Lakers coach Frank Vogel described Paul’s action as a “dangerous play”.
However, Phoenix did not let that bother them. Booker countered every comeback attempt by the Lakers, and in the closing stages Ayton was also noticed a few times with offensive rebounds. Phoenix brought the game over time, one and a half minutes before the end, Jae Crowder made the early decision with a jumper from the middle distance (99:87).
Game 2 of the series will also take place in Phoenix on Wednesday night (4 a.m. German time).
The most important statistics
Phoenix Suns (2) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (7) 99:90 (BOXSCORE), Serie: 1-0
- The Lakers are usually very good at pushing turnover and generating Fastbreak Points themselves. That didn’t work at all at the beginning, instead the Suns got off to a much better start and scored 10 fast break points in the first quarter (Lakers: 0). The Lakers got this problem under control afterwards, and only 6 fast break points followed for the rest of the game.
- The guests also had quite big problems offensive in the first half, especially in the minutes that James spent on the bench. Only two threesomes were scored, Davis hadn’t even taken place at this point. There was a clear plus on the free throw line: Phoenix did not take a single free throw in the first half, the Lakers went to the line 17 times and scored eleven. But the lousy quota caught up with them during the game: Los Angeles hit a measly 60.7 percent from the free throw line.
- Much has been said in advance about the size disadvantages of the Suns. In this game they were not noticed, on the contrary: The Suns worked out a proud 16 offensive rebounds and repeatedly generated second chances from them. Ayton (8) in particular was incredibly dominant here. The rebound duel went to Phoenix with a total of 47:33, especially Davis (7) was not a factor on the board for a long time.
Suns vs. Lakers: The voices of the game
Anthony Davis (Lakers): “There’s no way we can win a game, let alone a series, if I play the way I do today. It was my fault.”
The star of the game: Devin Booker
It could have been the 100th playoff game of his career, Booker acted so confidently. Although he was almost constantly doubled in the second half, the off-guard almost always made the right decision, several times he sank spectacular giant killers over the outstretched arms of Davis. Jumped into the breach incredibly well for Paul.
Flop of the game: Anthony Davis
13 points, 5/16 FG, a -18 rating – many Lakers disappointed, but none disappointed as much as Davis. The superstar sometimes seemed incredibly passive and you almost forgot that he was playing. On the offensive almost only conspicuous by Jumper, he hardly ever used his size profitably. Especially the lineups with him next to Drummond don’t work at all so far, but AD was also the only Big Man that didn’t have the usual effect. Is he still battered?
The scene of the game
At the beginning of the third quarter, Ayton did not realize that he was completely free under the basket and played out on Bridges, who missed an emergency throw. Instead of complaining, however, there was only encouragement for the young center – and just a minute later Booker served his fellow debutant an alley oop on a silver platter. A good example of how well-established Phoenix was in this game.
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