The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

Deandre Ayton had his fourth consecutive double double in the 2021 NBA playoffs and his Phoenix Suns evened their best-of-seven round one series against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Ayton finished with 14 points (6-8 from the field) and a game high 17 rebounds in the Suns’ 100-92 win over the defending champion Lakers yesterday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles to tie the series 2-2.

In his debut playoff series, Ayton is averaging 19.8 points, 13.5 rebounds and is shooting an unprecedented 80.9 percent from the field through four games.

In game one, Ayton finished with 21 points and 16 rebounds (10-11 field goals), followed by 22 points (11-13 field goals) and 10 rebounds in game two, and 22 points (11-15 field goals) in game three.

Game five is back in Phoenix on Tuesday, June 1, followed by game six in Los Angeles Thursday, June 3, and a series finale game seven (if necessary) back in Phoenix on Sunday, June 6.

“DA had 17 rebounds, that is a relentless attitude,” Suns head coach Monty Williams said.

“For him to have 17 boards in a gem like this was huge for us,” Williams added.

Phoenix made a 32-15 run starting shortly before halftime and encompassing the whole third, during which it held the Lakers to 15 points on 3-16 shooting once the Lakers’ All-Star forward Anthony Davis sidelined.

The Suns led by 18 with less than nine minutes to play, but the Lakers responded with a 19-8 run to pull within seven (95-88) with 2:40 left.

“One of the things we said is we wanted to be relentless, but relentless with our energy and focus on the game and not all the extracurricular stuff that is taking away our attention and energy,” Williams said.

“Even at the end where we had the game won our guys were talking about the game - don’t say anything, don’t get caught up in shenanigans, we don’t want to mess with the game, we respect our opponent, they deserve our attention and focus and we have to give all our energy to winning the game and all the extra stuff we have to leave it alone.”

Suns point guard Chris Paul looked effective for the first time since a game one injury and finished with 18 points and nine rebounds.

Prior to Sunday’s triumph, the Suns’ last playoff win came in May, 2010.There was an announced sellout crowd at Phoenix Suns Arena for game one, which was capped at 11,919 because of COVID-19 restrictions. That’s about two-thirds of the 18,000-plus capacity.

For game five, the Suns have increased capacity for 16,000.