Lakers at Suns
Eric Bledsoe has gotten off to a blistering start and looks to top 20
points for the fifth consecutive game when the Phoenix Suns host the Los
Angeles Lakers on Monday. Bledsoe scored 30 points in Saturday's 105-81
dismantling of the Denver Nuggets for his second 30-point outing of the
season.
The sixth-year guard has averaged 28 points and made 30-of-44 field-goal attempts over the past three contests and is averaging 23.2 points through nine games. "I'm just playing, having fun and playing with my teammates and being aggressive," Bledsoe told reporters. "It's definitely with a better flow. Everybody is getting easy looks, creating for others as well. We're just playing team basketball at the end of the day." Los Angeles is sitting at 2-8 and Sunday's 97-85 victory over the Detroit Pistons snapped a four-game losing streak and also avoided the worst 10-game start in franchise history. Kobe Bryant had 17 points, nine assists and eight rebounds in a season-high 36 minutes against Detroit and told reporters after Sunday's game that he will not play against the Suns.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, TWC SportsNet (Los Angeles), FSN Arizona (Phoenix)
ABOUT THE LAKERS (2-8): Los Angeles coach Byron Scott was unsure prior to the Detroit game whether he would play Bryant on Monday but the plan changed during the contest when the chance to record a victory presented itself. Scott approached Bryant during a fourth-quarter timeout and said he was going to play him the rest of the way and not use him Monday and Bryant agreed. "He was a calming influence out there with a lot of our young guys," Scott said after the win. "Just wanted him to go the rest of the game and see if we could get the 'W.'"
ABOUT THE SUNS (5-4): Second-year pro T.J. Warren is pressing P.J. Tucker for the starting small forward spot and ranks fourth on the team in scoring (10.9) while shooting 50 percent from the field. Warren provides solid scoring pop off the bench while playing an average of 21.2 minutes per game, and the 30-year-old Tucker is averaging five points and 4.4 rebounds. Warren has scored in double digits five times this season and has shot 7-of-10 from the field on three occasions.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Suns swept last season's four meetings and have won eight of the past nine matchups.
2. Los Angeles PF Julius Randle has scored in single digits in four of the past five games and is 16-of-45 shooting during the stretch.
3. Phoenix PF Markieff Morris (knee) is questionable and could miss his second straight game.