The Los Angeles Lakers returned to Staples Center after a break of 8 years. Although the match was not glorious domination by the Lakers, the fans were not left disappointed with the final result.
The Lakers Are Ahead By One Now
The Phoenix Suns fell to the Lakers 106-93 as Los Angeles went out in front 2-1 in the playoff series. This is the first win in the playoffs for the current champions in their original stadium after 2012. In the previous postseason, Disney world was the home location for the team.
The top defense in the NBA regular season according to defensive rating showed their worth in the match. The Suns were held to converting 19 shots of the 42 attempted inside the circle. Devin Booker struggled as well only managing to score 6 shots of the 19 attempts, for a total of 19 points. He also got escorted out in the game’s final minute after he fouled Dennis Schroder hard.
For the Lakers, Anthony Davis put on a monster display for the second consecutive time by scoring 11 rebounds and 34 points. Game 1 was rough for AD (only 13 points). Since then, Davis has scored 68 points across the two previous games. LeBron was also piling on the style.
The Lakers had swapped Marc Gasol with Montezl Harrell completely behind Drummond at the center. Gasol has played for quite a few minutes as a sub since the first game. Harrell had only made a 15-minute appearance for the first game. Given Deandre Ayton’s threat, it was an expected swap.
However, the Lakers did not get the win without some bruises. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had to exit the game after sustaining an injury in his left quad. On Friday, an MRI will be performed on the player.
