Dillon Brooks scored 25 points, Devin Booker went for 21 points and 11 assists and the Phoenix Suns rolled past the visiting Los Angeles Lakers 132-108 on Tuesday.
Phoenix took the lead for good late in the first quarter against a Lakers side playing without NBA leading scorer Luka Doncic, who sustained a leg injury Saturday against the Clippers. The Suns steadily built on their advantage and blew the game open with a 45-point third quarter.
Phoenix went on a 16-4 run coming out of intermission and held Los Angeles to just one made field goal for the first three-plus minutes of the second half. Three-pointers from Royce O’Neale and Collin Gillespie bookended the Suns’ surge, part of their 14-of-34 shooting from beyond the arc.
Four Suns knocked down multiple triples, led by O’Neale’s 4-of-5 shooting. He scored all 12 of his points from long range to finish as one of six Phoenix scorers in double figures.
Mark Williams finished with 18 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds, while Gillespie shot 4-of-8 from 3-point distance on his way to 16 points while adding eight assists.
Jamaree Bouyea came off the bench to score 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting, helping the Suns to a 58.8 percent effort as a team (50-of-85).
The Lakers, meanwhile, made 39 of 81 shots (48.1%) from the floor including 12-of-32 from beyond the arc, but hit just 18 of 29 free-throw attempts. Los Angeles also struggled with ball control being down its playmaker Doncic, committing 17 turnovers that Phoenix converted into 24 points.
Gillespie’s three steals led the Suns, while Booker and Jordan Goodwin each came away with two.
LeBron James led Los Angeles with 23 points despite 6-of-11 shooting at the free-throw line. Ex-Sun Deandre Ayton posted a double-double with 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field and a game-high 11 rebounds along with three steals.
Austin Reaves came off the bench in his return from a calf injury, scoring 17 points in his first action since Dec. 10.
