With Dragic long gone after a February trade, Bledsoe’s first full season as Phoenix’s longest tenured guard is already shaping up to be a career year, and keeping it going Monday night against the visiting Los Angeles Lakers might not take much.
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ABOUT THE LAKERS (2-8): Los Angeles coach Byron Scott was unsure prior to the Detroit game whether he would play Bryant on Monday but the plan changed during the contest when the chance to record a victory presented itself.
Eric Bledsoe, typically Point Guard 1A, had 21 points while Brandon Knight, usually Point Guard 1B, had his first career triple-double – 30 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds at Talking Stick Resort Arena.
Knight was at the center of the Suns’ fourth quarter push to take control of the game after taking a five-point lead into the period. “When I played here with Kevin Johnson (1989-92), we said ‘You do your thing, and everyone else is going to get shots because the defense has to collapse.’ That happened a lot tonight”. This is one of the most explosive back courts in the National Basketball Association.
The Lakers still have 71 more games to play before World Peace can really start considering his future options in coaching.
The game was finally in hand and Phoenix Suns guard Brandon Knight was losing a few steam in the home stretch of a 40-minute night. I thought our guys gave an effort but I thought their effort was 10 times better. G Lou Williams helped keep the Lakers close with 10 first-half points but scored only six more the rest of the way…. “That’s something that I guess we’re trying to figure out”. “He controlled the game like a point guard should”, Bledsoe said.
Despite facing a Lakers squad with little height outside of 7-foot-2 center Roy Hibbert, Suns center Tyson Chandler struggled to get untracked offensively.
Knight came into the game averaging a less gaudy but still admirable 19.1 points, 3.9 assists and 3.7 rebounds.
– The oldest player in uniform made the Suns look silly in the first quarter. “I’ve said it from day one, he’s been great”, Scott said. Suns F Markieff Morris sat out a second game with a left knee sprain, with Jon Leuer getting a second start….
Notes: The Lakers committed 17 turnovers and gave up 18 offensive rebounds.
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The Suns led by as many as 37 points against Denver Saturday, but had more trouble putting the Lakers away.
