Doncic, Reaves and Hayes lead Lakers to win vs Suns

The Lakers return home after an 0-4 road trip riddled with key players missing time. However, in their matchup vs Denver on Friday, the Lakers were as short-handed as they've been all season, missing 8 total players. The team came out with an edge and played 48 minutes of hard-fought basketball lead by Reaves' 37 points and Knecht's 32. JJ Redick praised the team's resiliency in the face of enormous adversity.

Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and Jaxson Hayes led the way in today's afternoon victory against a struggling Phoenix Suns squad. Doncic poured in 33 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists. Reaves had 28 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists. Jaxson Hayes was astounding in setting screens, rolling to the rim and getting to his spots off of Doncic and Reaves passes and giving LAL 19 points on 8-10 shooting with 6 rebounds and 3 assists.

One of the league's best shooting guards, Devin Booker, was held to just 19 points on 6-17 shooting and 0-3 from 3. Kevin Durant led the team with 21 points and also shot 6-17 from the field in 31 minutes. The Suns stand at 31-37 and currently are on the outside looking in at 11th place in what has been a severely disappointing season. A noticeable rift between the players and coaches has translated to their on-court production.

Dorian Finney-Smith and Gabe Vincent returned to action after missing the game in Denver. Rui Hachimura is reportedly expected to return sometime within the next couple of games while LeBron is expected to return in about a week.

The Lakers are halfway through the dreaded 6 games in 8 days part of the schedule and will face the Spurs tomorrow, the Nuggets on Wednesday and the Bucks on Thursday all at Crypto.com Arena.

LA currently sits at 5th, only a game behind the 2nd seeded Rockets who hold a three-way tie between Denver and Memphis. With 16 games remaining, 8 on the road and 8 at home, their primary focus is getting as healthy as possible for the playoffs.