Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves help Lakers snap losing streak with win over Suns

The Lakers returned both to Los Angeles and to the win column as Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves led the way in a victory over the Suns.

Luka Dončić brought his blood feud with the Suns with him to Los Angeles as he scored 33 points — his seventh straight 30-point game against Phoenix — to help the Lakers snap their four-game losing streak on Sunday with a 107-96 win.

Austin Reaves and Luka again had simultaneous big games, combining for 61 points and 14 assists. Luka ended with 33 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists and two steals. Austin Reaves had 28 points and handed out six assists.

Jaxson Hayes pitched in with 19 points and six rebounds. Gabe Vincent went 3-5 from behind the arc and ended with nine points. Dorian Finney-Smith made some big plays late to finish with 10 points.

A fast start for Los Angeles saw them take a lead of seven as Phoenix struggled to make shots. The Suns rectified that by scoring five straight shortly after.

Jaxson was the beneficiary of two excellent assists from Luka and was up to six points. After Phoenix took the lead, Austin answered with a 3-pointer. Jaxson was fouled for his second three-point play.

Austin made a behind-the-back pass to Jaxson, who scored and was fouled again. Los Angeles went up by 11 on a 12-2 scoring run.

The Suns could not make shots, some of which were wide-open attempts. Luka drained his second 3-pointer of the quarter, pushing his point total to 10. The Lakers built a comfortable cushion with their lead.

Luka once again drained a 3-pointer and Gabe Vincent followed with one of his own. The Suns cut into the 20-point lead the Lakers had built, trimming LA’s lead to 16 at the end of the first.

Phoenix continued to chip away at the deficit with a 10-0 run that dated back to the first quarter. A deep 3-pointer by Dalton stopped some of the bleeding. Gabe knocked down his second 3-pointer of the game.

Despite managing a big scoring run, the Suns’ defense failed them, allowing LA to find good shots.

The Lakers' defense did a great job stopping Phoenix’s big three offensively with none of their stars in double digits yet. Austin cooked the entire Phoenix team, scoring six straight points and knocking down a difficult shot while falling out of bounds as the shot clock expired.

Phoenix was shooting an atrocious 12% from behind the arc while Los Angeles shot 50%. LA had three starters in double figures while nobody on the Suns had done so yet.

The connection between Luka and Jaxson continued to be a lethal weapon for the Lakers as they connected yet again for a lob. At halftime, LA was up by 17.

The Lakers started the second half by giving Jaxson more easy buckets so he could continue to dominate in the paint with six straight points. Kevin Durant started heating up for the Suns by scoring eight points, also draining two 3-pointers, which their team desperately needed if they wanted any life.

Phoenix made it a single-digit deficit before Gabe knocked down another 3-pointer. Luka was fouled and converted on both free throws. Los Angeles weathered the run by Phoenix before pushing their lead up to 16. Austin drained another 3-pointer as he and Luka shouldered much of the offensive load this quarter.

Unlike in the first half when they could barely score to save their lives, the Suns had more life thanks to KD taking over with 14 points so far in the quarter. The Lakers had a tougher time guarding him with the whistles getting called in his favor.

The Suns were on a 7-0 run when Luka was given a technical but KD missed the free throw. Luckily for Los Angeles, Phoenix still was having a disastrous game from behind the arc. Austin ended the third on a layup to push the lead for the Lakers to 12.

Austin took over to start the final frame, scoring all of LA’s first six points in the quarter. Devin Booker picked up his fifth foul early. Dorian, who struggled offensively for most of the game, drained his first 3-pointer.

Phoenix’s ugly shooting from behind the arc continued being a major reason they couldn’t string together enough of a good run to make it a competitive game.

The Lakers managed to have an answer each time the Suns seemed to gain some steam. Luka was up to 33 points, further adding to his longtime ownage of the Phoenix Suns organization.

Austin converted on another tough layup attempt, muscling his way through contact. It was an eight-point lead for the Lakers at the two-minute mark when Dorian drained a big-time 3-pointer, then tipped in a missed Luka shot to seal the win.

Key Takeaways:

The Lakers being better than the Phoenix Suns should be celebrated in abundance.

Luka and Austin have turned Jaxson into an important lob threat for this team. Keep feeding the beast. It’s working!

Dorian had a rough start offensively but managed to score big at the end of the game to help fully seal the win. Hopefully, he can build on that offensively.

The Lakers’ next matchup is against the San Antonio Spurs on Monday at 7:30 PM PT.

You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.