EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — The Lakers’ doubters, whoever and wherever they are, are probably trending toward quiet.
They sprung up with good reason during the regular season as the injury-pocked Lakers stumbled to a seventh-place finish in the Western Conference. Then came a listless loss to the Phoenix Suns in Game 1 of their first-round playoff opener.
But Game 2 showed some Lakers resolve and Game 3 was a switch being flipped in a notable way by the defending champions Thursday at Staples Center.
The Lakers protagonists, Anthony Davis and LeBron James. outscored the Suns by themselves in the third quarter, a bad sign for the rest of the NBA, as the Lakers beat Phoenix, 109-95, and took a 2-1 series edge.
It was the Lakers’ first playoff game at Staples Center since 2013, it came in front of 7,825 fans, and was that the return of the Lakers’ defense? Indeed.
All-Star guard Devin Booker struggled all night and the Suns scored a mere 12 points in the second quarter.
The key quarter, however, was the third: Davis scored 18 points, James added 10 and the Suns totaled only 23.
“We run most of our stuff through those guys, and just seeing them get in a good rhythm and scoring the ball like they’re scoring is good for us,” Lakers guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope said.
Davis finished with 34 points and 11 rebounds, continuing to erase the memory of his lethargic Game 1. James had 21 points and 9 assists to dampen any whispers about his sore ankle.
Not to be forgotten, Dennis Schröder had two big buckets and a slew of free throws in the final minutes as the Lakers batted away a late Phoenix run. Schröder finished with 20 points and 4 assists.
“We’re starting to click,” said Schröder, who appeared to injure his ankle in the third quarter but kept playing. “We’ve got better every game [in the series] and we’ve got to do that Sunday as well” in Game 4 at Staples Center.
Suns All-Star guard Chris Paul played less than three minutes in the fourth quarter and was seemingly limited by a shoulder injury sustained in Game 1. He had only seven points and six assists Thursday.
Without Paul’s typical contribution, Booker was forced to shoulder the scoring load. It didn’t work out well for him. He totaled 19 points on ragged 6-for-19 shooting. He also was hit with a flagrant foul after unleashing some frustration on Schröder by shoving the Lakers guard.
“We played great defense and we’ve just got to keep building on that,” Schröder said.
The Lakers didn’t escape unscathed.
Caldwell-Pope left the game in the third quarter and did not return because of what he called a hyperextended knee. He was experiencing another quiet game and finished with five points but said afterward he hoped to play Sunday.
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