Suns failed to destroy Lakers as Ayton hoped
LOS ANGELES – Deandre Ayton wanted a win just as badly as his former teammate, if not more, but for a different reason.
The Suns rookie 7-footer still remembers the Los Angeles Lakers running through them a month ago by 18 points at Talking Stick Resort Arena.
“We wanted to come to their home and destroy them,” Ayton said. “That was the only thing going
through my head. We want to come in here and destroy you all, like really knock ya’ll out.”
Sort of like Deontay Wilder nearly did on Saturday at Staples Center in a World Boxing Council heavyweight title fight against Tyson Fury, which ended in a draw.
Ayton wanted to do some on-court damage to Chandler, too.
“I’m about to play him,” Ayton said before the game. “I’m thinking about destroying him right now. That’s about it.”
So Ayton loved how Phoenix charged out to a 17-point lead in the first quarter.
“First 12 minutes, we’re doing what we do,” Ayton said. “Amazing game. We got them on their heels.”
Shut down
Ayton remembers battling with JaVale McGee for an early rebound. Wrestling in the paint, but it was all good.
“We were playing through it,” Ayton said. “That’s how a grown-man league is supposed to be.”
Then Ayton picked up a foul. Then another.
“I picked up like two cheap fouls (by midway through the first quarter) and it kind of turned down my aggressiveness a little bit,” Ayton said. “It was like two in a row. So, I’m like confused and the refs not talking to me on how I got the fouls. They don’t really listen when you try to ask them.”
Then Ayton picked up a third foul with 3:54 left in the first half guarding LeBron James.
Ayton had his hand extended out and James went into his shot to initiate contact, made the baseline jumper, and drew the foul.
“I shut down after that,” Ayton said. “I think I shut down, to be honest. I think I shut down a little bit in that first half when I picked up my third foul. It wasn’t going my way and I was out of rhythm. That really got me because I was really amped up for this game.”
Changed teams
The Lakers created a 32-point turnaround in taking a 61-46 lead at halftime and pushed their advantage all the way up to 33 in the fourth quarter.
Ayton finished with a double-double of 10 points on just 4-of-12 shooting and 10 rebounds. Chandler only scored three points, but grabbed 11 boards — and his Lakers overcame Phoenix’s fast start in a convincing 120-96 victory.
“That’s how it was going to be the whole game,” Ayton said in talking about Phoenix's fast start. “Stuff just happened.”
Chandler, who is from Compton, Calif., wound up in Los Angeles after Phoenix bought out his contract last month as the 17-year pro was in the final year of his four-year deal in which he was guaranteed to make $13.6 million.
There were reports Suns interim general manager James Jones did his close friend, James, whom he played with in Miami and Cleveland, a favor by buying out Chandler’s contract so he could come back home and join the Lakers.
After Phoenix and Chandler parted ways, Ayton said he learned a lot from the center.
“He taught me a lot of things,” Ayton said last month. “This is the way of the business, life. Obviously, it’s tough losing a great vet like that. I was looking forward to learning a lot more during the season, but hey, we’ve got to move on now. He’s a great person, great vet, great player.”
Chandler left eight games into the season. Since then, Ayton has continued to live and learn as a rookie, but he’s also become one of the leading candidates for the NBA Rookie of the Year award.
Ayton is averaging 16.2 points, 10.2 rebounds and shooting 59.9 percent from the field. Chandler always raved about Ayton’s talent as he had high expectations for the No. 1 overall pick out of Arizona.
“I want him to dominate on both ends,” said Chandler at the team’s media day in September. “Not just on one end. I want him to dominate on both ends because that’s when you take things to another level and I think he has the capability of doing so. It’s just about learning.”
Chandler was an early influence on Ayton as he worked on helping him “find his voice” on calling out defensive coverages. Their relationship mainly consisted of Chandler showing Ayton what he should’ve done in a specific game situation.
The storyline had become Ayton was Chandler’s prized pupil.
“They had a very good relationship,” Suns coach Igor Kokoskov said. “That was Tyson’s job. They had a very good chemistry, relationship. They built it over the offseason. Deandre was very curious to find out more about Tyson before he met him. They spent some time together during camp.”
So Ayton not only wanted to avenge that ugly loss to the Lakers, this was his first opportunity to face Chandler, as an opponent.
Chandler went into the visiting locker room before the game to talk with his former teammates, including Ayton. But the two didn’t have many opportunities against each other on the court, though.
Ayton started, but got in early in foul trouble, and Chandler came off the bench.
The Suns scored numerous times on drives to the basket and off of lob passes as Ayton caught a feed from Josh Jackson and flushed it with two hands while Chandler stood underneath the basket.
Chandler didn't show much resistance in contesting shots, but he got on the glass. He boxed out Ayton a couple of times and made his mark on the game
The Lakers are certainly happy with the addition of Chandler. He’s averaging 3.6 points, 7.3 boards and shooting 60 percent in his 13 games with the Lakers.
He averaged comparable numbers in seven games with the Suns — 3.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, while shooting 56.7 percent from the field — but he's averaging eight more minutes a game with the Lakers.