Los Angeles Lakers vs. Phoenix Suns Game 6 Review By: Nitish Raj

 Los Angeles Lakers vs. Phoenix Suns Game 6 Review

By: Nitish Raj

On Thursday, June 3rd, the Phoenix Suns came into the Staples Center ready to eliminate the Lakers. They had provided a total beatdown of the Lakers in game 5 on Tuesday, June 1st, to the tune of a 30 point victory. The Lakers were pushed to the brink of elimination, and seemed to be counted out by many. They had been trending downwards after Anthony Davis, the Lakers’ star big man, left game 4 at halftime. They lost game 4 and game 5, but Anthony Davis was set to return in game 6. Despite LeBron James being hobbled by an ankle injury, Lakers fans were confident due to the return of Anthony Davis and the superhuman ability of LeBron James in game 6’s. James had phenomenal stats in game 6 elimination games, and he had put every team on his shoulders and carried them in those games. But this situation would be even more difficult, due to the success of the Suns, and how difficult they were to beat. They had two great rising stars in Mikal Bridges and Deandre Ayton, the latter of which had played exceptionally in the series. They had a great veteran leader and closer in Chris Paul, although he had been pretty limited in the series due to a shoulder injury. Then finally, they had a bonafide superstar in Devin Booker, who had carried the Suns in large parts of the series. They seemed determined to eliminate LeBron James and the Lakers.

In the first quarter of the game, the Lakers came out flat, and the Suns were on fire. They sprinted out to a 36-14 lead, thanks in large part to the 22 points by Devin Booker on outstanding shooting. Devin Booker could not miss, and he made back-to-back-to-back threes at one point. The Lakers had no answer for him and no answer on offense. Anthony Davis had left the game after 5 minutes, after experiencing discomfort in his groin while playing. Davis had been cleared to play, despite not fully recovering from a groin injury, much to the ire of many fans. They felt the team doctors irresponsibly cleared Davis. The Lakers fell behind by as much as 29 points in the second quarter, but thanks to a personal 8-point run by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, they were able to shorten the lead. They were down by 21 at halftime. They came out in the second half ready to play, and the defending champs did not want to go out without a fight. They shortened the seemingly insurmountable lead to 13 by the end of the third quarter, and the entire Staples Center was on their feet and believed that the Lakers could make a comeback. During the fourth quarter, the Lakers seemed poised to continue their momentum and take the lead. I was extremely excited and I had regained my belief that they would win at this time. When LeBron James pushed through the lane for a layup, I had the feeling that he would not let them lose. But, I wish that they had controlled more of their possessions in crucial moments, and some of the possessions that could have increased the Lakers’ momentum were ruined by poor shot selection. This would allow the Suns to score points on the other end and start a run of their own, which angered many Lakers fans and myself. At around the midway point of the fourth quarter, when LeBron left the game for two minutes, the Suns started taking advantage of the Lakers’ offensive weakness, and began to pull away once more. But when he came back, it was too late for the Lakers to win, even with the last-minute run that they went on. At the end of the game, both Jae Crowder and Devin Booker were ejected as the game started getting chippy. Booker had 47 points, and the Phoenix Suns were able to eliminate LeBron James in the first round for the first time in his career. This was a very heartbreaking loss for myself and many Lakers fans, as the Lakers seemed poised to repeat as champions. However, they are instead headed towards a long offseason with many questions. The Suns move on to face the Denver Nuggets in the second round, with their championship aspirations still intact.