(Basketball news) The Los Angeles Lakers got an important victory over the Phoenix Suns as they beat them 122-111. For the Lakers, Anthony Davis had 27 points and nine rebounds as D’Angelo Russell scored 26 points while Austin Reaves had 25 points and a career-high 11 assists after moving into the starting lineup. For the Suns, Booker scored 25 of his 33 points in the second half as Paul had 18 points. The Suns have lost the last of their five matches.
Phoenix on the other hand hadn’t lost to the Lakers in six games since May 2021. Kevin Durant missed his seventh straight game for Phoenix with an ankle injury, and Deandre Ayton also didn’t make the trip to Los Angeles while sitting out his second game with a hip injury. James is still sidelined with a foot injury, as the Lakers have kept his recovery under wraps, but he is scheduled to be re-evaluated later this week.
“Where do you see a game with 46 free throws for one team?” Williams said. “That’s just not right. I don’t care how you slice it. It is happening to us too much. Other teams are reaching, other teams are hitting, and we’re not getting the same call, and I’m tired of it. It’s old. Forty-six to 20 free throws with Devin Booker on our team. He gets 12. I mean, our bench had no free throws. It’s just … I’m over it. Been talking about the same thing for a while. Doesn’t matter what team it is.”
“We’ve been seeing some crazy stuff in different situations,” Paul added. “I watch a lot of basketball, and … we’ve got a guy (Booker) who goes (to the rim) night in and night out, and you don’t necessarily see the same (calls). It’s crazy. Crazy how some of (the officials), too, you can’t even talk to them or approach them … because that (communication) is horrible.”
“(Reaves) was huge for us, and he’s been huge for us all year,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “He’s in a great space right now, feeling his game and locked into what we’re trying to accomplish.”
The Memphis Grizzlies welcomed back their All Star player in Ja Morant as he helped them beat the Houston Rockets 130-125. For the Grizzlies, Ja Morant finished with 17 points and five assists in his return to action after a league-imposed suspension and Jaren Jackson Jr. had season-high 37 points and 10 rebounds while Desmond Bane finished with 20 points and Tyus Jones 14 points and each added seven assists as the Grizzlies claimed their second consecutive division title.
For the Rockets, Jalen Green finished with 32 points while Kenyon Martin Jr. scored a career-high 31 as Kevin Porter had his second career triple-double and first of the season with 14 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists and Alperen Sengun scored 25 points.
“Once I got out there on the court and seen the fans reaction to me being back, it definitely helped me a lot,” said Morant, who shot 3 for 7 and had eight points in 10 minutes of action in the first half. “Made me feel good inside.”
“He’s being aggressive and realizing how big he is and using that size to his advantage,” reserve Santi Aldama said of Jackson’s play. “You can see, once he gets in the post, they can’t stop him.”
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