It’s been about 10 hours since the Suns’ 116-114 loss to the Lakers ended, and I still don’t really know what I watched.
After the game ended, I met up by the main entrance of Mortgage Matchup Center to talk to a couple of buddies who were at the game. The first words out of my mouth when I walked up were: “That was the dumbest basketball game I think I’ve ever watched.”
Here’s some of what I watched that won’t ever really make sense to me:
— The Suns went 8:05 without scoring a point. In an NBA game. They led 77-71 with 5:28 to go in the third quarter and didn’t score again until Grayson Allen hit two free throws with 9:23 to go in the fourth. They went 10:11 without a made field goal.
— A player with the last name of Smart made two of the dumbest plays you’ll ever see a player make. Marcus Smart nearly cost his team the game but got away with his boneheaded plays.
— LeBron James absolutely fouled Dillon Brooks on the three-pointer that gave the Suns a 114-113 lead with 12 seconds left, but there was no whistle. In a game that featured 51 fouls, 68 free throws and crew chief Tyler Ford speaking on the microphone more than I did as the PA announcer, there was no call on that pivotal play. That is, until Brooks got frustrated and demonstrative and bumped James, who predictably flopped a little. They issued a technical foul on Brooks, which was his second, and James had a chance to tie it with the ensuing free throw, which he missed. Brooks is always walking the line, but absolutely has to use better judgment in that situation.
— James would basically win the game at the free-throw line by hitting 2 of 3 after he was apparently fouled by Devin Booker on a clunky three-point attempt with three seconds left.
It was a blood-pressure-raising loss for the Suns. They were the smaller team and got bludgeoned on the glass all night. They were outworked by a Lakers team that they themselves exposed in LA two weeks ago. They were sloppy with the basketball and, again, went an eternity without scoring a point. Yet through all that, they still fought back and probably should have won this game.
Through all the hair-pulling and frustration, this team still finds a way to keep you optimistic.