Lakers hope to beat Suns for third time (Nov 17, 2017)
LOS ANGELES -- Two of the six wins for the Los Angeles Lakers this season have come against the Phoenix Suns, and they will try for a third when they meet at Staples Center on Friday.
The Lakers (6-9) won 132-130 in Phoenix on Oct. 20, and returned to Phoenix on Monday and posted a 100-93 victory.
A big difference in those games was the contributions of Lakers rookie point guard Lonzo Ball, the No. 2 overall pick in this year's NBA Draft.
He had 29 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists in the first meeting, his second NBA game. He has been a disappointment in nearly every other game, including the victory earlier this week against the Suns, when he shot 3 of 10 and finished with seven points, five rebounds and five assists.
Jordan Clarkson has been gradually eating away at Ball's minutes, and Clarkson's play kept Ball on the bench in the fourth quarter of the past two games. Clarkson scored 25 points in Monday's win and came back with 20 points, six rebounds and five assists in a 115-109 loss to the visiting Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night.
Clarkson played 32 minutes against the 76ers compared to 21 for Ball, who finished with two points on 1-for-9 shooting, five rebounds and two assists.
Lakers coach Luke Walton said he is not even close to replacing Ball in the starting lineup.
"He's our starting point guard," Walton said of Ball. "So there's no discussion, no talks as of now of moving Lonzo to the bench. Nah. He's our starting point guard."
One area the Lakers need to improve is their 3-point shooting. They enter the game last in the NBA at 28.8 percent from behind the arc, the only NBA team that's below 32 percent.
"Obviously we're going to let our guys shoot 3s," Walton said. "That's part of the game and we actually have had a couple of games where we're hitting them. ... But, we're going to encourage attacking the paint in the meantime until those numbers start getting a little better."
The Suns (5-11) won four of five following an 0-3 start, but have taken a step back again, losing seven of their past eight.
They gave up 90 points in the first half of a 142-116 loss to the visiting Houston Rockets on Thursday night, the second-most points allowed in a half in the shot-clock era.
"I just think as a team, we have to give a better effort," recently acquired Phoenix center Greg Monroe said after totaling 20 points and 11 rebounds against the Rockets.
A few of the Suns have delivered solid individual performances against the Lakers this season.
Devin Booker scored 36 points Monday, shooting 14 of 27 from the field, and finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds in the first game against Los Angeles.
TJ Warren had 24 points and eight rebounds in the first game and 23 points and eight rebounds in the second.
But they could be without leading rebounder Tyson Chandler, a Los Angeles native who sat out the loss to Houston with an illness. Chandler had a season-high 15 rebounds in the loss to the Lakers on Monday.
