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Grayson Allen scored 24 points, Kevin Durant added 22 and the Phoenix Suns pulled away late in the fourth quarter to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 123-113 on Sunday.
Allen and Royce O’Neale hit clutch 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to put the Suns up 116-104 with three minutes remaining. Jusuf Nurkic added 18 points, 22 rebounds and seven assists.
The Lakers trailed by 20 points at the end of the first quarter, but slowly reduced the deficit to 92-90 at the end of the third. Phoenix responded with the next six points and did not trail in the fourth.
LeBron James led the Lakers with 28 points on 12-of-19 shooting and also had 12 assists. Anthony Davis scored 22 points and 14 rebounds.
Four Phoenix starters scored at least 20 points and the Suns had a 51-34 rebounding advantage. Devin Booker scored 21 and O’Neale added 20. Bol Bol scored 11 points in 24 minutes off the bench.
The Suns took a 38-18 lead late in the first quarter before settling for a 45-28 lead in the second. The 45 points were the most Phoenix scored in a quarter this season. The Lakers cut that lead in the second, but still trailed 72-63 at halftime.
D’Angelo Russell led Los Angeles with 18 points in the first half, while Booker scored 13 for the Suns.
Suns three-time All-Star Bradley Beal missed his fourth straight game with a strained left hamstring. Beal has played in just 30 of the team’s 58 games this season due to various injuries.
Phoenix and Los Angeles find themselves in a similar position about two-thirds of the way through the regular season. Both teams have star-studded rosters, but are fighting to avoid the Western Conference play-in tournament.
The Suns entered the game as the eighth seed in the West, while the Lakers were ninth. The top six teams from each conference avoid the play-in tournament and advance to the best-of-seven first round.
UNTIL NEXT TIME
Lakers: against the Clippers on Wednesday.
Suns: Host the Rockets on Thursday.
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