‘Villain’ Dillon Brooks erupts for 33; depleted Suns embarrass Lakers

Dillon Brooks scored 33 points and the Phoenix Suns overcame the loss of Devin Booker to earn a 125-108 road victory Monday (Tuesday, December 2, Manila time) that ended the Los Angeles Lakers’ seven-game winning streak.

Collin Gillespie scored 28 points by going 8 of 14 from 3-point range, while Mark Williams and Jordan Goodwin each added 13 points as the Suns stopped a two-game skid by winning the opener of a four-game road trip. Royce O’Neale had 11 assists for Phoenix.

Booker scored 11 points in 10 minutes of the first quarter before he departed with a groin injury. He watched the second half from the bench in street clothes. Coach Jordan Ott said postgame that the team would know more about Booker’s status on Tuesday.

Before leaving the game, Booker reached 17,000 points in 11 NBA seasons and became the third-youngest player with 17,000 points and 3,600 assists at 29 years, 32 days. LeBron James and Oscar Robertson were younger.

Luka Doncic scored 38 points and pulled down 11 rebounds while Austin Reaves added 16 points for the Lakers, who lost for just the third time in 16 games and fell on the second night of a home back-to-back.

After missing Sunday’s game with a sore foot, James returned to score 10 points, extending his run of double-digit scoring games to 1,297.

Deandre Ayton, who was the first overall draft pick by the Suns in 2018, scored 12 points with nine rebounds against his former team. Los Angeles committed 22 turnovers that Phoenix turned into 32 points.

After a 31-31 tie through one quarter, the Lakers took a 41-35 lead in the second with Booker off the floor. Phoenix turned up the defensive intensity from there and ended the first half on a 19-4 run to take a 66-52 lead into the break.

Brooks scored 15 points in the second quarter and added 10 more in the third when Phoenix led by as many as 21 points and took a 96-77 lead into the fourth.

Not only did the Suns lose Booker, they were without Grayson Allen (illness) for the eighth time in the past nine games. – Rappler.com