Thomas, Green power Phoenix Suns past Lakers: By the Numbers

The Los Angeles Lakers are not having a good season. They suffered double-digit losses in three of their first four games, and entered Tuesday’s meeting with the Phoenix Suns looking for their first win of the year.

The Suns threatened to blow the game open in the second quarter, taking a 12-point lead into the half, but Los Angeles held tough, looking hungry for that first win.

Phoenix handed Los Angeles one of the aforementioned double-digit losses last week, but the latest contest was much more competitive. The Lakers were within five points for much of the fourth quarter, but Phoenix held them off with timely baskets and trips to the free throw line. The visiting Suns emerged by a final of 112-106, improving to 3-1 on the season.

Gerald Green and Isaiah Thomas were superb off the bench for the Suns, contributing 26 and 22 points, respectively. Kobe Bryant took a season-high number of field goal attempts for L.A. and finished with 39 points, but there wasn’t enough help around him in the Lakers’ fifth loss of the year.

Here’s a look at Tuesday’s game by the numbers:

3 (part I)

Thomas shot 8-for-16 in the game and surpassed 20 points for the third time this season (in only four opportunities). Phoenix is 3-0 when Thomas reaches that mark. Coincidence?

3 (part II)

After serving a three-game suspension, P.J. Tucker made his first appearance of the season for Phoenix. He came off the bench and grabbed five rebounds in 20 minutes, but he didn’t score his first points of the year until hitting a corner three-pointer with 19 seconds left, which put the game out of reach for the Lakers.

16

Goran Dragic has gotten off to a slow start to the season — for him — but he contributed a solid 16 points Tuesday night, although he shot just 5-for-12 from the field. The 28-year-old guard contributed seven rebounds and four assists, both season highs, against Los Angeles. He still has yet to hit a three-pointer this year.

21

Eric Bledsoe got into early foul trouble and spent an extended amount of time on the bench while the Suns rode the hot hand of Thomas. The 24-year-old Bledsoe played a season-low 21 minutes, but he came back in the fourth to put in a crucial bucket as well as a pair of free throws, finishing with six points on 2-of-4 shooting.

23

Suns forward Markieff Morris started out cold from the field but made several tough lay-ins in the fourth quarter, and his final basket, a 14-foot jumper, put him at 50 percent shooting (9-for-18) and 23 points on the night. The fourth-year forward stuffed the stat sheet in many other ways, as he tallied 10 rebounds, five assists, one steal and one three-pointer (on three attempts). The double-double was his second of the year, and Phoenix has won both games when that’s happened.

37

In trying to keep the Lakers in the game, Bryant took a whopping 37 shots, topping his previous season high of 28. The veteran made just 14 of those attempts, including three from downtown, meaning the Suns held him to a lackluster 37.8 percent from the field. He’s now shooting just over 41 percent on the season.

53-17

Thanks to Thomas and Green, the Suns dominated in points off the bench 53-17. The Lakers had four players reach double-figures, but none of them were among the team’s reserves.

62.5

Despite having a great night of 22 points, nine assists and three steals, Thomas continued to struggle from the free throw line, missing three of his eight attempts. The first-year Sun is shooting 62.5 percent from the charity stripe this year, even though he has a track record of making well above 80 percent of his attempts in each of his first three NBA seasons.