The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

DEANDRE Ayton and the Phoenix Suns made a dynamic return to the NBA playoffs and dominated en route to the franchise’s first postseason win since 2011.

Ayton finished with 21 points and 16 rebounds as the Suns defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 99-90, Sunday afternoon at the PHX Arena in Phoenix, Arizona to take a 1-0 lead in their best of seven series.

The Suns host game two tonight at 10pm, broadcast live on TNT.

Ayton had a historic postseason debut and shot 10-11 from the field. He became just the second player in postseason history to shoot 90 percent (or better) in a 20-point, 15-rebound game against the Lakers, joining Bill Russell, who did it in Game 2 of the 1965 NBA Finals.

The Suns, the No 2 seed in the Western Conference, had a true home court advantage against the No 7 Lakers with 11,824 fans in attendance for the team’s postseason return.

“The crowd was amazing. I had never seen anything like it. That was the most intense game I’ve ever seen in my life,” Ayton said, “I was just quiet the whole time trying to play hard, I was really just embracing everything that was going on. That was like a concert.”

Ayton was lauded for his defensive effort against perennial All-Star forward Anthony Davis who finished with just 13 points on 5-16 shooting from the field. Eight of Ayton’s 11 rebounds also came on the offensive end.

“I give [the credit] to my teammates having my back, telling me what to do, telling me where I’m at on the floor, they did a good job having my back on the backend when it was time to box out and rebound,” Ayton said.

“It was a lot, it was intense, it was fun. My guys had my back helping me with AD, just trying to play hard and match the energy as best as I can throughout the game. Those are great players and you can’t tell when they will make great plays, but I was just trying to be ready.”

Ayton scored ten points in the first quarter to help the Suns get out to a quick start and a 32-25 lead. He had 14 at the half and the Suns maintained a 53-45 lead at the break. The Suns led 86-70 early in the fourth, but the Lakers quickly cut it to 86-77 with 9:02 left. Suns point guard Chris Paul was forced to leave the game with a “stinger” but retired to play 20 minutes in the second half. He told reporters he expects to play in game two.

Ayton added that the Suns cohesion this season carried over from their performance in the NBA’s postseason “bubble” in 2020, where they finished 8-0 and fell just short of the postseason.

“In the bubble what we brought out of there was us knowing each other, having your brothers back, building relationships that’s beyond basketball and bringing it to this new season, new players a team but it was really contagious but that’s what we’re doing on the court, playing together and we’re standing by that,” he said, “Our focus for game two, just making sure we stay together, once we keep emphasising playing as a unit we’ll be fine.”

The Suns won the regular season matchup between the two teams, 2-1. On March 2 the Suns took a 114 - 104 win. Ayton finished with 17 points and six rebounds. On March 21, Ayton had 26 points and eight rebounds in a Suns 111 - 94 win. The Lakers capped the series with a 123 - 110 win on May 9. Ayton had just six points and six rebounds.

Ayton appeared in 69 of the Suns’ 72 games this season. He averaged a double double for the second consecutive season - 14.4 points and 10.5 rebounds per game

The Suns finished the season with a 51-21 record. Phoenix won the Pacific division title for the first time in 14 years and one of the league’s longest playoff droughts when they earned a postseason berth for the first time in 11 years.