LOS ANGELES (News4usonline) – The Los Angeles Lakers recorded a 121-107 win against the Phoenix Suns on Friday night. The win allows the Lakers to finish the season with a winning record, regardless of what happens in the team’s finale against the Utah Jazz.
The Lakers got off to a slow start but played with a lot more aggression during the rest of the game to grab the win. D’Angelo Russell led the way for the Lakers with 24 points. Austin Reaves (22 points) and Malik Beasley (21 points) also played a big part in the win.
It was Beasley’s best game in a few weeks where he was back in rhythm with the rest of the team. During the postgame press conference, Beasley spoke about how he got back to his normal game.
“I put in a lot of work,” said Beasley. “At some point, it’s (ball) gonna fall and [I] gotta make sure it sticks during playoffs.”
When asked how different he feels once he finds his rhythm, Beasley had this to say about that topic.
“I can shoot the ball more because it’s going in, so I felt good to get out and play a little bit more tonight and take advantage of the opportunity,” he added.
In recent weeks, the Lakers have moved up the Western Conference standings. After their home win against an undermanned Phoenix team, the Lakers are the No.7 seed in the Western Conference heading into their matchup against the Jazz.
Lakers coach Darvin Ham said rest is first on the team’s list after a rigorous travel schedule.
“It’s that time of the year, man,” Ham said at a postgame press conference. “I know if I’m feeling tired. I can only imagine how they feel. Phoenix is a proudful ballclub…they got a lot of guys over there that play hard nonstop. I’m happy we came out on the right side of it. I don’t feel any lack of confidence…the more we rely on each other as a group, we’ll be okay.”
When asked what he thinks the Lakers need to do to continue to be successful this season, Beasley said to take it one game at a time.
“For me, I feel like we just need to win every single game and we’ll see what happens after that and we’ll handle business from there,” Beasley said. “Our talent helps, but I think that we play hard. I think we got a lot of guys [to] play hard…we play well as a team. When the ball is stagnant that’s when it’s tough for us. But when we got the ball, we’re the team to beat.”
Feature Image Credit: Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis running down the court in a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder earlier this season. Mark Hammond for News4usonline
California State University Dominguez Hills journalism major. Editor in chief of Cypress College Chronicle 2019. Born and raised in La Mirada, CA