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PHOENIX — Devin Booker scored 32 points and the Phoenix Suns won their franchise-record 63rd game of the season Tuesday night, beating a Lakers team minus LeBron James 121-110 to eliminate Los Angeles from the play-in race and postseason play.
It was a tight game during the first half but Phoenix used a 29-9 run in the third quarter to create separation. The rest of the game was essentially a celebration for the Suns, who danced and dunked their way past the forlorn Lakers.
Los Angeles — playing without James for a second straight game because of a sprained ankle — has lost seven straight. Russell Westbrook scored 28 points while Anthony Davis added 21 points and 13 rebounds.
Deandre Ayton had 22 points for Phoenix (63-16), which avoided its first three-game losing streak of the season.
Even without James, the Lakers led for a big chunk of the first half. But the Suns started to take control late in the second quarter, and two straight alley-oops from Chris Paul to Ayton put Phoenix up 56-50.
The Suns took a 63-58 into halftime. Booker scored 16 points and Ayton added 14. Westbrook had 18 points for the Lakers before the break.
Phoenix pulled away in the third quarter, jumping to an 84-65 advantage in the first six minutes. Booker scored 16 points in the third and finished 12 of 22 from the field, including 6 for 9 from 3-point range.
Once the Suns built their big lead, the Lakers didn’t seem particularly interested in mounting a comeback. Los Angeles finished with 16 turnovers, plagued by the same poor decisions that have hurt the Lakers much of the season.
The Lakers have potentially five future Hall of Famers on their roster — James, Davis, Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard — and still couldn’t find a way to make the playoffs.
Davis and James missed significant chunks of the season with injuries and Westbrook never seemed to mesh well with his new team.
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