Against Chris Paul, Devin Booker and the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday, the Los Angeles Lakers face a tough challenge.
They lost three of their first four games before narrowly beating the Orlando Magic on Sunday and watched their odds of making the playoffs greater.
Los Angeles trailed 7-2 at the start, but soon after, the game began to be competitive, starting the sprint late in the second quarter to lead by seven points at halftime. After the Suns equalized again, the Purples and Golds extended their lead to double digits in the final quarter and took a 122-111 victory.
The victory put the Lakers back in tenth place in the Western Conference. They are only half a game behind the Minnesota Timberwolves in seventh place and 1.5 games behind the Golden State Warriors in sixth place.
Davis was 17 points short in three of his previous five games, but returned to his original form in Wednesday's game against the Phoenix.
He scored only seven points in the first half, but he maintained his strength in the third quarter, scoring 14 points in more cases. In the game against Jock Landale, he caught the ball and quickly dunked past him.
Bismark did a better defensive job than Randale defensively than Yanbo, who blocked two of Davis' shots. But that didn't have enough impact, and eventually the Lakers' superstar also took advantage of Ayton's absence.
He scored 27 points on 10-of-18 shooting, 7-of-10 from the free throw line, nine rebounds, five assists and one steal.
Vanderbilt was given a defensive assignment to defend Devin Booker. He made an offensive foul on an illegal screen and then turned a steal into a fast-break layup while being fouled and completing the three-point game.
Overall, the Lakers' power forward hasn't slowed down Booker, with the Suns' star scoring 33 points on 11-of-16 shooting. However, he also made 7 turnovers and many of his shots were in the diversity of the game or semifinals.
Vanderbilt only grabbed 4 rebounds, but he contributed more than usual on the offensive end. He shot 5-of-5 from the field and 3-of-3 from the charity world, scoring 13 points in 26 minutes.
Brown shot just 2-of-6 and 1-of-3 tonight for just six points. But he grabbed six rebounds and two assists in 25 minutes to help the Lakers.
Russell was very efficient against the Suns, shooting 9-of-13 from the field and 3-of-6 from the field in the center, eventually scoring 26 points. In addition, he provided 6 assists, although he did make 4 turnovers and in the second consecutive game he also blocked 2 shots.
Head coach Davin Hamm changed the Lakers' starting lineup before the news alert, replacing Malik Beasley with the Warriors. The unselected wing responded with another huge game that pushed the team to victory.
After scoring a career-high 35, he scored 25 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Once again, he excelled in attracting fouls and absorbing contact, which resulted in 13 free throws and 12 free throws from charity stripes.
Reeves has also done an admirable job helping Russell and Dennis Schroeder control the ball and facilitating the task. He had 11 assists and only two turnovers, the most of any player on either team.
By comparison, Chris Paul, who averaged 9.2 assists per game in this game, had only four assists in 30 minutes.
It was the first time since becoming a Lakers team in January that Harumura didn't score. He made just three shots in 13 minutes, but never made it to the free throw line. His only contribution was two rebounds.
Gabriel's game was mediocre, especially compared to some of his recent performances. He had 6 points, only 2 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 assist in 16 minutes, and he also missed 3 of 5 free throws.
Offensively, Schroeder scored 13 points in 29 minutes. He shot 3 of 7, but he made all 6 of his free throws.
The free-throw line was a major advantage for Los Angeles on Wednesday. It attempted 46 fouls, compared to just 20 for the Suns, 36 of them.
Schroder also had 4 rebounds and 2 assists, and he also did some effective defense against the Suns' guards.
Coming off the bench, Beasley shot 2-of-6 from the field, but he shot 2-of-5 from 3 points and had six points and four rebounds in 20 minutes. After the game, Hamm praised his hard work despite being transferred to the bench, he did a good job.