The Phoenix Suns dominated the Los Angeles Lakers at the Crypto.com Arena in a comfortable 127-109 win. Devin Booker and Bradley Beal led the team with 31 and 37 points, respectively. Booker set the tone early on and scored 16 of his 31 points in the first quarter. This put the Lakers in the deficit from the start and the team never recovered. After the game, Booker revealed Kevin Durant’s strong message that inspired him when asked about the team plan for the game.

He said, “KD came to me before the game and was like, ‘I want you aggressive. Don’t worry about getting me involved. I’ll get myself involved,'” as per Duane Rankin of AZCentral.

Despite being one of the biggest stars in the league, Kevin Durant was happy to let the young star take over the game from the get-go. And Booker did it in style. As Durant gave the green light, Booker looked for shots and was not worried about sharing the ball on every possession.

The Lakers had no answer and struggled to contain the 3x All-Star, especially in the first quarter. KD took a back seat and scored 18 points, which is 11 points less than his season average of 29.6 per game as per ESPN. However, the Suns still managed to win the game comfortably thanks to Booker’s aggressive start and Beal’s dominance.

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For the Lakers, superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis struggled massively. James finished with 10 points and 9 assists making this one of the worst games of the season. After a dominant 41-point performance in the last game, Davis only scored 13 against the Suns.

Bradley Beal was at his best

After his blockbuster move to the Suns, Bradley Beal’s time in Phoenix has been a bit marred with injuries. He only played 5 five games in December and has only featured in 13 games so far. However, he turned a corner as the new year dawned and played 6 of 7 games. But he was still struggling for consistency.

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In the last two games, his struggle was glaring. But it looked like he saved his best for the Lakers. The 3x NBA All-Star found his touch and looked like his superstar self in LA. He was automatic from the three-point territory making 8 of 10 attempts. After the game, Anthony Davis claimed that players turn into Stephen Curry when they play against the Lakers. He gave Beal’s performance as an example despite his recent struggles.