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Lakers stifle Suns to clinch home-court advantage for 1st round of playoffs

April 11, 2026

LOS ANGELES — Everybody wants to play the Lakers.

Everybody wants to play – and beat – the Lakers, the team limping to the finish line without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves available for most or perhaps all of the first round of the playoffs. At least, according to Lakers coach JJ Redick that’s the case. He said as much on Friday night before their game against the Phoenix Suns.

“I’m sure everybody wants to play us,” Redick said, an hour after the Denver Nuggets announced they were sitting their entire starting lineup against the league-leading Oklahoma City Thunder; in what could have been a maneuver to manufacture a matchup against the Lakers. “Let’s get that out there. Everybody wants to play us.”

The Nuggets won anyway. And the Lakers (52-29) more than handled business against the Suns, 101-73, to clinch home-court advantage for the first round of the playoffs, winning after the Houston Rockets had their winning streak snapped by the Minnesota Timberwolves in a 136-132 home loss on Friday night.

LeBron James, back in the face-of-the-franchise role for the short-handed Lakers, had 28 points, 12 assists and six rebounds to help hold Phoenix at bay, while Luke Kennard continued to pour in production with a 19-point, three-assist performance.

The Lakers can finish no worse than the No. 4 seed, in which case they would square off with the fifth-seeded Rockets (51-30) in a best-of-seven series. Should the Lakers defeat the Utah Jazz (22-59) on Sunday and the Nuggets (53-28) fall to the San Antonio Spurs (62-19), the Lakers would jump to the No. 3 seed and meet sixth-seeded Minnesota (48-33) in the first round.

All eight first-round series will begin next weekend (April 18 or 19).

Redick had pointed to James as a leader on an off the court over the past few days. The Lakers, who stumbled through three consecutive defeats as they adjusted to life without Doncic and Reaves – met as a team before their game in San Francisco, where James set a standard for his teammates.

It worked in Thursday’s victory over the Golden State Warriors. And on Friday, in the second game of a back-to-back set, James started by sparking the Lakers’ offense. He scored or assisted on nine of the Lakers’ first 10 baskets, while the Suns (44-37), who are locked into the seventh seed for the four-team Play-In Tournament, had few offensive answers with star guard Devin Booker and guard Jalen Green sitting out Friday’s game.

The Suns’ 73 points scored were comfortably the fewest the Lakers have allowed this season and the fewest the Suns have scored in a game. They found even fewer responses when guard Grayson Allen exited in the second quarter grabbing at his left hamstring. He did not return after heading to the locker room.

Forward Dillon Brooks led the Suns with 12 points, one of just two Phoenix players to score in double figures as they scored just 25 points in the second half (nine in the fourth quarter).

Whereas the Suns lost a key player, Lakers guard Marcus Smart returned to the fold on Friday, playing in his first game since March 21 when he suffered a right ankle contusion against the Orlando Magic. Playing on a minutes restriction off the bench following a nine-game absence, Smart’s defensive IQ that helped create the team’s post-All-Star break identity was more than evident.

In the third quarter, after Smart missed a floater in the paint, the veteran guard followed his miss and jabbed at the ball that Suns forward Ryan Dunn had collected. Smart’s attempt to force a tie-up pivoted Dunn toward backup big man Maxi Kleber, who sprawled to the floor with Dunn in a battle for the ball.

Dunn attempted to pass the ball out, but Smart jumped, tipped it and passed to Jarred Vanderbilt (six points, seven rebounds) alone in the key, who dunked to give the Lakers a 75-58 lead with 2:03 remaining in the quarter. Smart finished with six points, seven assists, five rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot, helping to turn a 57-48 halftime lead into certain victory.

The Lakers scored 24 points off 23 Phoenix turnovers while holding the Suns to 33.8% shooting from the field.

More to come on this story.

Orange County Register

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Lakers stifle Suns to clinch home-court advantage for 1st round of playoffs

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