Devin Booker scored more than half of the Suns’ points in the first quarter, and that was nowhere near enough to compete against the Lakers. His 10 points were matched by a paltry 7 from his teammates. That first quarter finished with a 43-17 scoreline.

Anthony Davis almost outscored the Suns on his own, with 15 points and 3 rebounds in the first quarter. As usual, LeBron James was a masterful co-ordinator the Lakers offense, finding himself with 7 points and 7 assists with over 9 minutes left in the second quarter. He would finish the first half with a double-double thanks to 10 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists.

Oh, and Javale McGee also channeled his inner point guard, dishing out 4 assists of his own in the first half. 

The Lakers bench did pretty well against the Suns in the first half as well, with Kyle Kuzma having 11 points and Dwight Howard putting up 8 points.

In an event that summed up the first half for the Suns, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope found himself forced to shoot a contested three with a second left, somehow made it, and pushed the lead to 33. The half would end with the Lakers up 74-41.

The second half was one hell of a fight back from the Suns. They outscored the Lakers 38-27 in the third quarter, and opened the fourth quarter with a 16-4 run.

The feisty Suns managed to cut the lead to 10 points in the fourth quarter. This was precipitated by the Lakers missing their first 7 shots in the quarter, which prompted Vogel to bring James and Davis back to the floor.

Having their big guns on the floor didn’t seem to help at first, with the Suns forcing the Lakers to a 1 of 14 start, allowing the Suns to cut the lead to single digits.

The Lakers were still up 109-101 with 2:48 left in the game, but the crowd was noticeably quiet due to the change in momentum. The Suns got it to 110-103 thanks to Kelly Oubre, and they had multiple chances to cut the lead further but couldn’t make a shot or get a foul down the stretch.

James picked up his eighth triple double of the season with 31 points, 13 Rebounds, and 12 assists. Anthony Davis had a solid game with 26 points and 11 rebounds. The Lakers got a solid contribution from their role players as well, with Kyle Kuzma and Avery Bradley combining for 37 points.

The Lakers will feel like they got away with this game. They won’t feel good about finishing the game with a 117-107 scoreline considering how they had a 36 point lead at one point. They were outscored 66-43 in the second half.

Kelly Oubre and Devin Booker both had big nights for the Suns, combining for 58 points. They’ll go home with a bit of confidence even after a loss to the best team in the West.