Lakers drop Game 1 to the Suns on the road
Lakers have a lackluster appearance against eager Phoenix in Game 1 loss
PHOENIX » It’s been a long time since Phoenix had a Suns team strong enough to get behind.
A roaring crowd of 11,824 wasn’t about to let the moment pass without showing their passion. From the opening tip, they were loud, screaming “M-V-P” for their heroes and “BEAT L.A.” for the visiting villains. When a fourth-quarter fracas broke out on the court between Lakers guard Alex Caruso and Suns guard Cam Payne, they, too, were on their feet, thirsty for a scrap.
Perhaps the Suns, inexperienced as they are, were just drawing from that well of energy, which hasn’t been felt in the NBA for 14 months, and which hasn’t been felt in Phoenix for 11 years, since they were last in the playoffs.
For the Lakers, the defending champions who seek to prove they are better than their No. 7 seed, there was no such readily available
explanation why they struggled to meet the urgency of the moment in a Game 1 they had said they wanted desperately to win.
LeBron James had 18 points and 10 assists, but the Lakers looked behind the learning curve in a 9990 loss to Phoenix that put them in an 0-1 series hole the team with the second-best record in the Western Conference this season. And while many have given the Lakers the benefit of the doubt, looking past injuries and a lack of chemistry, the first taste of the real postseason gave cause for concern that their repeat bid could be stopped before gaining appreciable progress.
The headliner was Suns guard Devin Booker, who scored 34 points, nearly doubling any scorer from the Lakers. Even though Phoenix was held well below their season scoring average, the Lak- ers failed to counter on the at- tack and Booker’s star turn in his first career playoff game outshined the big names.
All-Star big man Anthony Davis had a quiet start with 13 points, while point guard Dennis Schröder managed 14 points but struggled on defense.
Davis took it personally, claiming responsibility after going just 5 for 16 from the field, misfiring on jumpers that characterized the Lakers’ passivity on offense. Where the Suns dictated, the Lakers offense went -- and more times than not, they missed the looks they got. Just two weeks ago against the Suns, Davis scored 42 points, and the 28-year-old said he, not Phoenix, was the difference.
“There’s no way we’re winning a game, let alone a series, with me playing the way that I played,” Davis said. “So, I mean, this is on me. I take full responsibility, for sure. We’ll be better Game 2.”
What might make the Lakers most regretful is that they failed to capitalize in the first half, when the Suns suffered a setback. On a putback by James, veteran leader Chris Paul was tangled up in traffic and fell, grabbing his right shoulder. After writhing on the floor for several minutes, Paul was hoisted up by James (his longtime friend and firsttime playoff competitor) and stalked off to the locker room with a towel over his head and his right arm dangling limply by his side.
He returned to the court a few minutes later to a deafening ovation, as if he were Willis Reed coming back to save the day. Paul was not quite so effective, however, losing the ball with his unsteady right hand, and struggling from the floor after his return.
What Paul said inspired him to remain in the game was, somewhat ironically, a video of Laker great Kobe Bryant that he watched Saturday night. The last time the Suns were in the playoffs, Bryant thrashed them in a six-game series. For this installment, his words were motivating to Paul and his teammates.
“And in the thing Kobe says like, ‘Injuries, sometimes you just can’t complain,’” Paul said. “So, that was all that was going through my mind after the play I got hit. Once I got here to the back and they checked me out and knew if there was anyway I could play I was going to.”
Paul said he’s sure he’ll play in Game 2.
But it turned out that Phoenix didn’t have to lean on Paul to carry the day: Booker was devastating enough for a Lakers defense that double-teamed him, focused on him, but still couldn’t stop him. The 24-year-old was 12 for 26 from the field, one of the highest-scoring postseason debuts in playoff history. He was also adept at finding DeAndre Ayton (21 points) on aggressive rolls to the basket, as his fellow first-time playoff participant skewered the Lakers’ post defense.
The Lakers? The veterans who made a dazzling run to the championship last year? They couldn’t hit much of anything, especially from 3-point range, where they were 7 for 26. The only Laker who hit more than one 3-pointer was James, who missed his final four attempts from long range.
The gap in desire showed in other ways: Phoenix outrebounded the Lakers by 14, outscored them in transition 16-9, and had 21 secondchance points to the Lakers’ 10. Those advantages helped make up for a disparity at the line, where the Lakers shot 28 free throws to Phoenix’s 12 (and had 19 attempts before the Suns had their first).
After working in lineups with both Andre Drummond (who started and finished with 12 points and nine rebounds) and Montrezl Harrell (12 points), the Lakers tried to close with their ace lineup with Davis at center. But in that key stretch, their shots failed them, missing six out of seven attempts before Jae Crowder iced the game with a late jumper for Phoenix.
It wouldn’t be the first time in recent weeks that the Lakers have looked wobbly, even with their full complement of players. After the 103-100 play-in win that James had to win with a 3-pointer on one good eye, the Lakers’ slow starts have become more of a trait then a hiccup. But James has also called Game 1s his feel-out performance, and perhaps the Lakers, who lost Game 1s against Portland and Houston last season, were taking the matinee tipoff the same way.
This group has many more open questions and has seen far more instability than last year’s title team: The starting lineup has only played together five times. And James admitted that lately, it seems last season has bled into this one, a “blur” that sometimes feels overwhelming to think back on. But nobody is going to want to hear excuses, least of all James, if this group falls short.
“Great tasks … but only the strong survive,” he said. “We’re in the position we put ourselves in and we’re up for the challenge.