Why Phoenix Suns should be upset seeing Los Angeles Lakers reach NBA tournament title game

The Phoenix Suns are days removed from losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA In-Season Tournament quarterfinals, but still feel a certain way about how they lost Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena.

The Lakers were granted a timeout called by LeBron James with 7.4 seconds left as Austin Reaves lost the ball in a trap by Devin Booker and Kevin Durant with the Suns down two.

Phoenix lost, 106-103, in Los Angeles.

“It definitely bothers you,” Suns guard Eric Gordon said. “We wanted to go to Vegas. That was a very meaningful game and we needed to be a part of that. The game just didn’t go the way that we wanted it to. To me, we beat ourselves. We turned over the ball. We didn’t rebound as well. That’s a recipe that hurts yourself.”

The Lakers (14-9) are a win away from winning the inaugural In-Season Tournament – as Durant predicted – after ambushing the Pelicans, 133-89, in Thursday’s semifinals at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

“I’m going with the Lakers since they beat us,” Durant said after Tuesday’s loss when asked who he thinks will win the tournament. “They’ve got the size to compete with anybody. They’ve got the quickest flight of anybody. Most fans out of anybody. It’s set up for them to win.”   

The Lakers face the surprising Indiana Pacers (12-8) in Saturday’s championship game.

“We’re starting to get healthy,” LeBron James said after Thursday’s game. “We’re starting to see what our team looks like. We know who we’re going to be playing with out on the floor. Guys are feeling in a really good rhythm offensively and defensively.”

Each player on the championship team receives $500,000.

The players from the runner-up squad get $200,000 each.

The Suns players get far less – $50,000 a piece – after losing in the quarterfinals. They play a regular season game against Sacramento Friday night at Footprint Center. The Kings lost the other Western Conference quarterfinal game to New Orleans.

The Lakers have won their six NBA In-Season Tournament games by a total of 121 points.

The two closest outcomes came against the Suns (12-9). The Lakers beat them twice by three points each – 122-119 Nov. 10 in Phoenix and 106-103 Tuesday in Los Angeles.

Had the Suns won that first tournament matchup against the Lakers, they would have hosted Los Angeles in the quarterfinals instead of going to L.A. as a wild card.

Phoenix lost to the Lakers Tuesday largely due to turning the ball over 22 times that led to 25 Lakers points and surrendering 21 offensive rebounds, which resulted in 19 second-chance points for Los Angeles.

“That’s the game,” Durant said. “That’s what we should be talking about.”

The Suns overcame all of that to find themselves down only two with seconds remaining after Durant’s layup with 11.2 seconds left.

“Looking for a 3, but they're going to push up on the 3-point line,” said Suns coach Frank Vogel after Tuesday’s game. Phoenix was out of timeouts at that point.

“So we get a quick two and foul or trap, which was the plan, which worked. We got the trap, we got the turnover and the damn whistle blows. It’s frustrating.”

The Suns appeared on the verge of having a chance to tie the game as Grayson Allen was vying for the loose ball, but the referees concluded Reaves had possession when James called the timeout.

“The whole world seen it,” a frustrated Booker said after the game. “It is what it is. The refs miss calls sometimes, but when they’re a bit that obvious, it’s tough.”

More:Adam Silver, NBA media, fans react to late call in Suns' tournament loss to Lakers

There’s no guarantee that if Phoenix wins that rematch they defeat New Orleans to reach the tournament championship game. However, seeing how the Lakers handled the Pelicans and just squeezed by the Suns twice, one could easily predict Phoenix takes down New Orleans, too.

Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.

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