While it may have been a preseason contest, the Suns and Lakers certainly didn’t fail to excite. While the Suns chose to rest some of their key players, the Lakers went all out for the victory, letting Kobe Bryant play for a preseason-high 34 minutes. In fact, the entire Lakers’ starting five played a combined 168 minutes, compared to 120 for the Suns starters.
The trio of Dragic, Bledsoe and Thomas were impressive again for the Suns, combining for 52 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists. The Suns point guards continued to play well, and most importantly, they continued to play well together. On the other side of things, Kobe Bryant led the way for the lakers with 27 points, but it was much more of a team effort, as Los Angeles had seven players score in double figures.
Mr. Clutch:
Isaiah Thomas was the player of the game for the Suns, scoring 26 points on 12 field goal attempts, but it was his performance in crunch time that led the Suns to victory. Thomas hit a buzzer-beater at the end of regulation to send the game into overtime (video below), and continued to play well, burying a three to put the Suns up five points with two minutes to go in the extra period.
Isaiah Thomas game-tying buzzer beater https://t.co/Sy9Bn95bMF
— Gifdsports (@gifdsports) October 22, 2014
Preview of the opener:
Against the Lakers, the Suns started Bledsoe, Dragic, the Morris Twins and Plumlee. The Suns will likely use that same lineup to start in the season opener, which is also against the Lakers, because P.J. Tucker has been suspended due to a DUI. It is very likely that the result of that game will be the same as this one, with the Suns coming out on top.
Plumlee’s Assertiveness:
Miles Plumlee had one of his better games of the preseason tonight, scoring eight points and grabbing seven rebounds in seventeen minutes. Plumlee had struggled to be productive as of late, but going up against the mess that is the 2014-2015 really seemed to help him put it all together. Now he’ll look to see if he can keep it up against the Clippers on Wednesday.
Dragic’s hot start:
Goran Dragic came out of the gates firing, scoring nine points in the first quarter on 4-of-7 shooting. In the first period, the Dragon added two assists and one rebound, while managing to stay turnover-free. Dragic’s hot start turned some heads, including that of Chris Palmer, who sent out this tweet:
Goran Dragic ended up with 15 points, 3 assists and 2 rebounds, in addition to being second on the team with a plus/minus of +10.
The Green Machine:
Prior to the game tonight, Gerald Green was having a relatively quiet preseason, averaging just 8.5 points per game. However, when Green entered the game at the start of the second quarter, he instantly provided a spark. Green buried his first two attempts, before ending the game with 21 points in 20 minutes. Green was especially active in getting to the free throw line, where he went 7-of-8.
Mamba time:
Overall, Kobe Bryant wasn’t especially impressive against the Suns, connecting on a dismal 1-of-7 shots in the first half. The 36-year-old ended with 27 points on 20 shots, while committing 5 turnovers. Bryant had three of his shots swatted away, and it was apparent that he did not have the lift that he displayed before getting injured a couple of seasons ago.
However, with time winding down, the Black Mamba turned back the clock, burying jumper after jumper, and would continue to do so in the overtime period, albeit in a losing effort. Bryant showed flashes of how good he once was, but overall, his performance was far from spectacular.
Mini-LeBron:
Eric Bledsoe did a little bit of everything, scoring 11 points while adding seven rebounds and six assists. Bledsoe scored or assisted on the Suns first 17 points in the second half, and really set the tone for the Suns defensively, blocking three shots. Had Bledsoe played more than 22 minutes, it’s very likely that he would’ve ended the game with a triple double, once again proving that the nickname “Mini-LeBron,” suits him quite well.