Lakers at Suns
The Phoenix Suns look for their eighth victory in nine outings when they host the reeling Los Angeles Lakers on Monday. Phoenix is one of the NBA’s top surprises and is six games above .500 after tying a season best with 15 3-pointers in Saturday’s victory over the Dallas Mavericks. The Lakers were routed by the Golden State Warriors on Saturday and Kobe Bryant has plenty of company when it comes to a lengthy list of injured players.
Los Angeles center Pau Gasol missed the 102-83 loss to the Warriors due to respiratory issues and the Lakers hope he will be back against the Suns. Phoenix won the lone meeting against the Lakers this season – 114-108 in Los Angeles on Dec. 10 – and is thriving under first-year coach Jeff Hornacek. Channing Frye and Gerald Green each had four 3-pointers and Eric Bledsoe knocked down three in the convincing 123-109 win over the Mavericks that represents Phoenix’s high scoring output of the campaign.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, TWC SportsNet (Los Angeles), FSN Arizona (Phoenix)
ABOUT THE LAKERS (13-14): Competing against Phoenix’s double point-guard starting backcourt will be a chore for a squad that is basically operating without one with Steve Nash, Steve Blake and Jordan Farmar all sidelined with injuries. Bryant was acting as the point guard during his brief return and now players like Jodie Meeks, Xavier Henry, Wesley Johnson and Nick Young are all taking turns. The results were disastrous against Golden State as Los Angeles posted a season low for points and had just 11 assists and committed 24 turnovers, leading to 28 points for the Warriors. The Lakers even turned to Kendall Marshall – just called up from the D-League – for six minutes and he was overmatched and committed four miscues.
ABOUT THE SUNS (16-10): Green has been a solid contributor all season and the journeyman who is playing for his seventh NBA club is averaging 12.9 points per game. He is averaging 20.5 points over the past two games, making 10-of-20 from 3-pointers, and had 22 points in Saturday’s victory over Dallas. “They’re the ones that are creating the shots for me,” Green said of his teammates. “It’s just easy for me to knock it down. They’re drawing so much attention from the defense, they’re collapsing to them.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Lakers have lost in four straight visits to Phoenix.
2. Bledsoe has scored 24 or more points in three of the last five games.
3. Young had 20 points against Golden State and has scored in double digits in 13 consecutive games.