National Basketball Association
Phoenix 137, L.A. Lakers 101
When: 9:00 PM ET, Wednesday, February 15, 2017
Where: Talking Stick Resort Arena, Phoenix, Arizona
Officials: #71 Rodney Mott, #77 Karl Lane, #56 Mark Ayotte
Attendance: 18055

PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns have not had many runaway wins this season, but they ran all over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday.

Eric Bledsoe had his third career triple-double with 25 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists, and the Phoenix Suns rolled to their biggest win of the season, a 137-101 rout that stands as their largest margin of victory in 240 career meetings with the Lakers.

Phoenix had a 41-16 edge in fastbreak points as they topped their previous biggest win in the Suns-Lakers series, which was a 135-100 win on Christmas Day, 1973.

Bledsoe came out of the game with 5:55 left, a few seconds after running down his 10th rebound for his first triple-double since Dec. 23, 2014, against the Dallas Mavericks.

"I have great teammates and they were egging me on to get it and I had no choice," Bledsoe said. "We had great energy tonight. We had a great practice yesterday, we were really competing and it carried over and we had a lot of fun."

The Suns had a season-high 32 assists, 10 of them in the first quarter.

"The horses were running, and when we do that you can rack up a ton of assists," Bledsoe said.

Devin Booker had 21 of his 23 points in the first half, and Alex Len and Marquese Chriss had 15 points each for Phoenix, which also a set a season high for shooting percentage (55.7 percent) and went into the All-Star break with momentum.

"From the beginning of the game, we played great defense, got out in transition and it led to a pretty good game for us," Booker said. "We shared the ball well and had a collective team win. This is the first time (the starters) were icing at the end of a game. That was nice to see."

The Suns (18-39) have beaten the Lakers 11 straight times at Talking Stick Arena, their longest home winning streak in the history of the series.

Lou Williams and D'Angelo Russell had 21 points each and Jordan Clarkson had 15 for the Lakers (19-39), who have lost 16 of the last 21 meetings with Phoenix overall.

"It felt like we had been warning about not going in All-Star Weekend early," Lakers coach Luke Walton said. "It's an honor and a privilege to play in this League, and we've got a great fans base and a great organization and I don't think that's right. We're going to lose games and I'm OK with that and I know that, but when we give in like that and don't play with a certain competitive level, that's not right for anybody involved."

The Lakers were outrebounded 59-36 and gave up 60 points in the paint, a huge share of that on dunks.

"From the beginning, we just didn't come out and compete," Williams said. "Get your (butt) kicked and go home. We just mailed one in today. The message is, no matter the circumstance, you've got to come out and compete."

Phoenix had lost five of its last six games, but was in control from the start.

The Suns scored the first seven points of the game and were up 21-6 by midway through the first quarter. Booker had 13 points on 5-for-7 shooting and Bledsoe had his per-game average of six assists. The Suns held the Lakers to 15 points in the quarter, a season low for an opponent

Phoenix had 14 fastbreak points in the quarter and Booker's second 3-pointer increased the lead to 32-10 with 1:41 left. Chriss had nine points, six of them on fastbreak dunks.

The Lakers were able to whittle the lead down with a 9-2 run early in the second quarter, with a Luol Deng layup getting Los Angeles within 41-30 with 8:43 left.

But Booker hit two 3-pointers 46 seconds apart and Bledsoe capped Phoenix's highest scoring first half of the season by banking in a 3-pointer from a step inside midcourt just before the buzzer to restore the Suns lead to 68-48.

Booker and Bledsoe combined for 31 points and Bledsoe had a double-double (10 points, 10 assists) at the break.

The Suns kept piling on in the second half. They led 102-76 after three quarters and a Brandon Knight 3-pointer with 8:39 left gave the Suns a 34-point lead (114-80). The final margin was their biggest lead against any team this season.

NOTES: Lakers coach Luke Walton (36) and Suns coach Earl Watson of the Suns (37) are the two youngest coaches in the NBA. ... The Suns' 36-point margin of victory was their biggest since beating the New York Knicks by 36 (132-96) March 26, 2010. ... Lakers G D'Angelo Russell and Suns G Devin Booker are ranked tied for second and fourth in 3-pointers made before their 21st birthday with 212 and 204, respectively. Russell turns 21 on Thursday. Only Washington G Bradley Beal (229) has more. Russell is now tied with Cleveland F LeBron James ... Suns F P.J. Tucker set career highs in rebounds (16 against the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday) and steals (seven against the Milwaukee Bucks on Feb. 4) in the past 11 days. He left the game with a lower back contusion when he fell on a sideline camera in the second quarter, but was able to return in the second half.
Top Game Performances
 
L.A. Lakers   Phoenix
D'Angelo Russell 21 Scoring Eric Bledsoe 25
Larry Nance Jr. 5 Assists Eric Bledsoe 13
Julius Randle 10 Rebounds Eric Bledsoe 10
Julius Randle 5 Free Throws Made Eric Bledsoe 8
Lou Williams 3 Steals Eric Bledsoe 2
Luol Deng 1 Blocks Marquese Chriss 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
L.A. Lakers 101 37.6 9-26 22-28 16 36 3 9 12
Phoenix 137 55.7 10-24 29-34 32 59 10 7 15
Upcoming Games
  • Phoenix will play their next game on the road against Chicago. The Suns have a W/L % of .167 after a win and .385 after a loss.
  • L.A. Lakers will play their next game on the road against Oklahoma City. The Lakers have a W/L % of .211 after a win and .385 after a loss.