The Phoenix Suns won Game 4 of the series against the Los Angeles Lakers 100-92, recapturing home field advantage. After the Lakers lost the injured Anthony Davis at halftime, the visitors pulled away in the third quarter. It was the Suns’ first away playoff win since May 2010.
Davis, who started the game already ailing and played weakly until he was eliminated due to a thigh strain, only managed 6 points and 4 rebounds (2/9 FG) in 19 minutes. By far the best Laker was LeBron James (25, 10/21 FG, 12 rebounds – his highlight dunks in the video), he was the only starter in double figures. The reservists Kyle Kuzma (11, 4/11 FG), Alex Caruso (10, 3/8 FG) and especially Marc Gasol (12, 3/5 3FG, 8 rebounds) made the best impression. Dennis Schröder stumbled offensively and came out of the field on 8 points at 3/13.
The Suns were led on points by Chris Paul (18, 9 assists, 7/15 FG), whose input was only decided shortly before the game. Devin Booker shot badly (17, 5/14 FG), Deandre Ayton raged in the zone (14 and 17). Jae Crowder (17, 6/12 FG) and Cameron Payne (13) also made valuable contributions.
Davis (left knee) was listed as questionable on the injury report, but made it clear the day before that he would not sit out under any circumstances. That’s how it happened. The same was true for Paul on the other side, who was noticeably not at 100 percent in the past few games due to a sprained shoulder. Kentavious-Caldwell Pope, on the other hand, did not get fit in time and was replaced by Wesley Matthews in the starting lineup.
Booker found Ayton under the basket for the first points of the game, Paul sank a jumper and was happy to finish early. LeBron then took over and put the guests ahead with 7 quick points. Payne’s third three sat and gave the Suns a brief lead, while Schröder ended an 8-0 run by Phoenix with a personal 5-0 run. Gasol’s tip-in with the buzzer gave the Lakers a 24-23 lead after 12 minutes.
Lakers without Davis have no chance against the Suns
James found Ben McLemore with a spectacular behind-the-back pass and pocketed the three. After a one-man fast break, LeBron stuffed. The hosts’ run ended with 10 points in a row. With the Suns, only Booker exuded danger, while the Lakers got good minutes from the reserves. After a Crowder threesome, Phoenix was back, the hitherto ice-cold sniper even followed up. it went back and forth Alex Caruso found LeBron via the backboard. The Suns had the last word in the first half, while Davis, who had been pale until then, was holding his left leg in pain after a rough landing. 54:50 Phoenix.
In the second half, Kuzma started for Davis, who didn’t come back. Kuzma fitted in suboptimal with a foul on a crowder dunk. After a layup by Ayton, the guests even led by 10. Ayton thoroughly dominated Andre Drummond, Kuzma had several unfortunate moments. Schröder played good defense, but his own shot didn’t fall at all. Payne dissected the Lakers defense several times, the lead grew to 16 points before the final section. LeBron only managed one field goal in the quarter.
The Lakers immediately brought Schröder and James back to work on a comeback. LeBron tried everything and the champion started a small run. Gasol reduced to -11 from distance and Bridges answered. Nevertheless, the Suns got nervous again, Paul returned to the field at 91:81 and hit an important jumper. Gasol hit another three, James just a free throw, Schröder missed an open layup and Crowder daggered from the corner.
Game 5 takes place in Phoenix on Wednesday night.
Lakers vs. Suns: The Voice of the Game
Chris Paul (Suns): “It means a lot to us, we put in a great fight. A lot of people are injured, that’s what the playoffs look like. The coach told me before the game to sit out, I said: no way! I love it, to play this game.”
Kyle Kuzma (Lakers): “We had to find out during the game what our offensive DNA is without AD. Defense wasn’t the problem. In the dressing room we’re still optimistic. We need to find solutions and we’ll be ready for Game 5.”
The most important statistics
Los Angeles Lakers (7) vs. Phoenix Suns (2) 92:100 (BOXSCORE), Serie: 2-2
- From the Lakers’ point of view, the third round is mercifully described as mixed. The bare numbers: 15:27 points, 3/16 from the field (18.8 percent), 0/7 from distance, 1 assist, 6 turnovers. Top scorer was Kyle Kuzma with 4 points. The fact that the Suns only scored 12 points more was due to the guests’ equally devastating rate of three (0/7).
-
Deandre Ayton’s odds remain impressive after Game 4. After 11 out of 15 in game 3, it was 6 out of 8 for the second win in the series. Seen over the series, he is therefore at almost 81 percent.
-
At the beginning, the Lakers fired happily from a distance, more than half of the throws in the first quarter were taken from the perimeter (13 out of 24) – with manageable success (30.8 percent). The proportion of three remained largely stable as the game progressed, the rate improved only slightly (32.5 percent). The Suns, on the other hand, learned from their lack of accuracy from distance (28.6 percent) and increasingly shifted their game closer to the basket.
-
It was noticeable that both sides initially lacked penetration to the basket, which resulted in extremely few free throws. In the first quarter there were only 4 combined, as a result Booker in particular became more aggressive (6/7 at break). In the end, both teams still took 21 freebies each.
-
It hasn’t been Jae Crowder’s series so far: this time, too, his first three-pointer landed miles wide, at this point he was 2/21 in this year’s playoffs and 9/50 since Game 3 of last year’s finals. Then he finally hit two in a row. In the end it was 3/8, including the crucial three-pointer.
The star of the game: Chris Paul
Given his injured shoulder, Paul’s performance cannot be underestimated. He was far from everything, but he definitely had a positive impact on the game, playing 9 assists with 0 concedes (his sixth playoff game with numbers like that, passing Magic Johnson and number one since numbers like that in 1977 are recorded). He was also there in crunch time with a jumper and a steal. Also strong: Ayton and Crowder.
The flop of the game: Anthony Davis
From Davis’ point of view, the evening could not have gone worse. In the 19 minutes of the first half, in which he was noticeably not at 100 percent, he did nothing, whether open threes or his favorite shots from the midrange. The Lakers lost his minutes at -8, in this state he is not much help to the champion. His health condition could decide the series. Also weak in attack: Dennis Schröder.
The scene of the game
In quarter two it was time for the LeBron highlight show. First the magic pass to McLemore, then the solo over the entire field and finally the monstrous dunk after a pass from Caruso. The elegance with which the King floated in the air was worthy of all honor.
Suns vs. Lakers: The Games of the Series – Standing: 2:2
| game | date | time | Home | away | result |
| 1 | 23. May | 9:30 p.m | Suns | Lakers | 99:90 |
| 2 | 26. May | 4 o’clock | Suns | Lakers | 102:109 |
| 3 | 28. May | 4 o’clock | Lakers | Suns | 109:95 |
| 4 | 30. May | 9:30 p.m | Lakers | Suns | 92:100 |
| 5 | 2. June | 4 o’clock | Suns | Lakers | |
| 6* | 4. June | tba | Lakers | Suns | |
| 7* | 6. June | tba | Suns | Lakers |