Devin Booker recorded 26 points and 10 assists as the Phoenix Suns halted a five-game losing streak with a convincing 127-100 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.
Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal each scored 23 points in their returns from calf injuries. The Suns went 1-6 without Durant and 0-5 without Beal.
Jusuf Nurkic registered 12 points and 12 rebounds and Grayson Allen scored 10 points for Phoenix, which outscored Los Angeles 65-40 in the second half.
Anthony Davis had 25 points, 15 rebounds and four blocked shots and LeBron James had 18 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds as the Lakers lost their third straight game. D’Angelo Russell had 16 points and Austin Reaves had 15 for Los Angeles.
James made two 3-pointers to move into a tie for seventh place on the all-time list with Kyle Korver (2,450 threes).
The contest was part of the NBA Cup. Phoenix, Los Angeles and the San Antonio Spurs are tied for first place at 2-1 in West Group B play.
Phoenix shot 51.5 percent from the field and was 17 of 42 from 3-point range. Tyus Jones had five steals for the Suns.
The Lakers connected on 43.5 percent of their overall attempts, going a shaky 8-for-34 from behind the arc.
Phoenix was up by two at half before Nurkic and Booker took over in the third quarter as the Suns outscored the Lakers 36-18.
Nurkic scored the Suns’ first 10 points in the period as Phoenix moved ahead by four. Booker then scored the next 11 points by the Suns as the lead increased to 83-72 with 5:37 remaining.
Royce O’Neale’s 3-pointer pushed the lead to 91-74 with 2:30 remaining in the third.
Jones’ buzzer-beating shot gave Phoenix a 98-78 lead. The Suns shot 60.9 percent (14 of 23) from the field in the quarter, while the Lakers shot 28.6 percent (6 of 21).
Beal scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to boost the Phoenix lead to 25 with 9:25 remaining.
Phoenix’s lead topped out at 30 points while beating Los Angeles for the second time in three games this season.
It marked the second consecutive poor second half for the Lakers. They were outscored 70-39 by the Denver Nuggets in a 127-102 loss on Saturday.
Durant and Beal each scored 14 first-half points as the Suns held a 62-60 lead at the break. Davis had 17 points in the half for the Lakers.
–Field Level Media