The Phoenix Suns dominated the shorthanded LA Lakers to come away with a 114-104 victory at the Staples Center. The Suns claimed the second seed in the West with this win and their record now stands at 23-11 for the season.
Chris Paul was the only starter for the Phoenix Suns who didn't score in double digits but Point God had 10 assists to his name tonight. Dario Saric added a season-high 21 points off the bench to compound LA Lakers' woes.
Even though there were plenty of highlights in this closely fought affair, the major talking point was the officiating. Plenty of technical fouls were slapped by the refs after the halftime break.
Frank Vogel and LeBron James were on the receiving end of the refs' no-nonsense policy for the LA Lakers but it was Phoenix Suns' Devin Booker who what to face unruly consequences. Booker was thrown out of the game on the back of two quick whistles and replays suggested that both the calls on him were very soft.
His first technical was the result of the dissent he had shown over a different foul call on Deandre Ayton while the second stemmed from a bounce pass to the ref. Yep, that's all it took for February's Western Conference Player of the Month to be thrown out of a nationally televised game.
While the Phoenix Suns were able to hold on for the win despite Booker's ejection, fans were miffed about the situation.
LeBron James has really been putting in his all for the LA Lakers since Anthony Davis' injury. He's taken on an extended scoring load and playing time but in some cases β like tonight's game against Phoenix Suns β even that hasn't turned out to be enough.
LeBron had a game-high 38 points tonight on 16-of-24 shooting from the field to go with his six assists and five rebounds. He was supported well by the likes of Markieff Morris and Talen Horton-Tucker but everyone else on the LA Lakers' rotation lacked efficiency tonight.
The Purple and Gold's shooting woes from downtown continued while the Phoenix Suns were scorching hot from range, making 16 three-pointers in 29 attempts.
Here's how fans reacted as the LA Lakers slumped to another loss.