On Thursday night in Arizona, the Los Angeles Lakers snapped an eight-game losing streak by beating the Phoenix Suns, 122-110, behind a strong second-half performance sparked by D'Angelo Russell, who finished with 28 points on the night.
Update: D'Angelo Russell still has ice in his veins ��❄️ pic.twitter.com/11cp2lkuKv — NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) March 10, 2017
Thursday's nationally televised contest featured the two worst teams in the Western Conference going head-to-head, which meant this game had serious NBA Draft Lottery implications.
With the victory, the Lakers collected their 20th win of the season and now trail the Phoenix Suns by only a single game in the standings counting from the top to the bottom. Since many see the goal as ending as close to the bottom as possible, the Lakers technically moved one game closer to giving up their title of second worst record in the NBA.
The Brooklyn Nets have all but secured the worst record in the NBA, so the Suns and Lakers are the two leading candidates to finish with the second worst record in the NBA.
For the Lakers, finishing with a top-three draft pick after the lottery is imperative because the team would be obliged to give up its draft pick if it fell out of the top three spots following the draft lottery. And so, Thursday's win in the desert was the one game the Lakers seemingly could afford to lose and not lose any sleep over.
Sports
Get today's sports news out of Los Angeles. Here's the latest on the Dodgers, Lakers, Angels, Kings, Galaxy, LAFC, USC, UCLA and more LA teams.
While the dark cloud of the lottery chase is not going anywhere for the remainder of the season, Thursday's contest provided a few bright rays of hope in terms of youth development.
Included in Russell's 28 points, the point guard made six of his nine three-point attempts and also collected three steals and three assists without committing any turnovers. He also scored 10 points in a vital third quarter where the Lakers outscored the Suns 29-18.
Off the bench, Jordan Clarkson scored 19 points as he continued to take the lead as the sixth man of the team following Lou Williams' departure prior to the trade deadline.
In the front court, Larry Nance Jr. and Julius Randle split time in the front court and combined for 26 points, 16 rebounds and two steals split evenly between the two power forwards.
BRANDON INGRAM TO THE RACK! �� pic.twitter.com/2sgiNeNay3 — NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) March 10, 2017
Rookies Ivica Zubac and Brandon Ingram also contributed 14 points apiece in a game that featured six Lakers scoring in double figures and every Lakers' player scoring at least one bucket.
Brandon Ingram with the Showtime and-1 finish ✨ pic.twitter.com/DaY6DfdHvn — NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) March 10, 2017
All in all, Thursday's game in Phoenix was a positive victory from the development angle. It just didn't help the lottery chase.
For the Suns, who are not in any jeopardy of losing their draft pick, even if they finish outside the top three picks in the draft, second year standout Devin Booker finished the night with 23 points and six rebounds in the loss.
Next, the Lakers host the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday night at Staples Center.
