Lakers win third in a row, defeat Suns

[January 04, 2016]  LOS ANGELES -- A fan hit a half-court shot worth $95,000 and the Los Angeles Lakers were on the money, earning their largest victory of the season Sunday night.

Guard Lou Williams scored a season-high 30 points, and the Lakers extended the Phoenix Suns' losing streak to nine games with a 97-77 victory at Staples Center.

Williams connected on 11-of-17 from the floor and six of seven 3-pointers as the Lakers (8-27) captured three games in a row for the first time since February 2015, when they beat the Boston Celtics, Utah Jazz and the Milwaukee Bucks.

"I just think you win one, you win two, the next thing you know you start paying attention to the things that got you to the point," said Williams, who scored 17 points in the third quarter. "So now, guys are communicating more, trusting, the ball is flying around more, trusting that your teammate is going to make plays for you instead of the ball sticking in every guys' hands once he gets it. I just think it's a better team effort."

Rookie forward Larry Nance Jr. added 15 points and a career-tying 14 rebounds, center Roy Hibbert had 13 points and six rebounds and guard Jordan Clarkson finished with 12 points, a season-best seven assists and five rebounds for Los Angeles, which snapped a five-game skid to the Suns.

"It's been a combination of a few things," Lakers coach Byron Scott said of the streak. "We're getting up and down the floor better, our defense has been better, our rebounding has been better, we haven't been turning the ball over a lot."

Guard Brandon Knight had 25 points and nine assists for Phoenix (12-25), which played its fifth game without injured guard Eric Bledsoe, who is out for the season with a torn meniscus in his left knee. Suns forward Mirza Teletovic contributed 16 points and eight rebounds.

The reeling Suns haven't won since Dec. 18, when they recorded a 104-88 decision over the New Orleans Hornets.

"It's a hard thing to get out of, the losing streak," Suns coach Jeff Hornacek said. "The Lakers lost a lot of games and then they won (three) in a row. Now, they're playing with confidence."

Forward Kobe Bryant sat out his second consecutive game with a sore right shoulder, but it mattered little as the Lakers' starters took up the slack. They also helped produce only the third double-digit win this season by the Lakers.

The Suns' best burst occurred with a 21-5 run to open the fourth quarter, allowing them to cut the gap to 86-72. However, Phoenix, coming off a 142-119 beatdown by the Sacramento Kings on Saturday, failed to get any closer.

The Lakers, who led by as many as 38, never trailed. They bolted to a 25-10 lead after one quarter and increased it to 43-22 at the break, capped by a turnaround 3-pointer by Williams just before the horn. It wasn't a case of the Lakers defense overwhelming the Suns. Phoenix missed layups and shots inside the paint, committed turnovers and failed to cleanly catch passes on several possessions.

The Suns allowed the Lakers to record season highs in points allowed in the first and second quarters (12) and the half. They also held Phoenix to a pathetic 19.6 shooting performance before intermission. Los Angeles managed 39 percent.

"We couldn't throw it in anywhere," Hornacek said.

Overall, the Lakers shot 45.2 percent to 36 percent for the Suns. They also limited Phoenix to the lowest scoring output by an opponent this season.

"We had our hands in all the passing lanes, getting deflections," said Nance, who also had 14 boards in Friday's win over the Philadelphia 76ers. "I think we were just playing aggressively, and anytime you can get the opposing team back on their heels a little bit, get them jarred, it's going to be good news for us."

NOTES: The situation with disgruntled F Markieff Morris remains a distraction for Phoenix. "All year long it's been a case of him playing up to his abilities and helping us and hurting us," Suns coach Jeff Hornacek said. "We're all trying to figure out the equation the best we can." Morris, who has not played the last three games, was suspended for two games in late December for throwing a towel at Hornacek. He has played once since then, managing four points and three rebounds in 20 minutes in a 112-79 defeat to the San Antonio Spurs on Dec. 30. Morris has clashed with Hornacek and Suns' management since the club traded his twin brother Marcus to the Detroit Pistons last summer. ... The Lakers play the Golden State Warriors at Staples Center on Tuesday, while the Suns host the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday.

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