After every shot made by Brandon Knight, Talking Stick Resort Arena played a piece of the theme from “The Dark Knight” for their aptly named young talent.
And in a 120-101 win over the Lakers, Knight was truly Batman to everyone else’s Robin, as he went off for his first-ever triple-double, with 30 points, 10 rebounds and an career-high 15 assists.
Knight, who shot 11-of-23 and also swiped four steals, was Phoenix’s motor in its 40-point fourth quarter, which turned a five-point lead into a 19-point victory.
The 23-year-old notched himself 10 points, while handing out six assists to his fellow Suns, including T.J. Warren, who gashed the Lakers for 12 of his career-high 19 points in the final period.
“Once we started trapping (Knight), that left other guys open,” Lou Williams said after his team’s fifth consecutive loss to Phoenix. “We didn’t rotate to those other guys. (We) were giving them easy buckets. … That fourth quarter we just had a complete mental lapse.”
Until that point, L.A. (2-9) had been outshooting the Suns 48.2 percent to 41.4. But Knight was uncontainable, and his teammates benefited, as Phoenix shot 16-of-23 from the field and scored as many points in the paint (26) as the Lakers did total.
While Jordan Clarkson put forth a 20-point effort on 6-of-12 shooting, the purple and gold couldn’t corral Knight and Eric Bledsoe (21 points).
Meanwhile, the Suns (6-4) played to both their strengths and weaknesses. Phoenix entered the game as the league’s second-best rebounding squad, and enjoyed a 50-37 advantage on the boards.
The Suns also stayed away from their league-high 17.9 turnovers per game, instead giving the ball away only 11 times.
No Excuses
The Suns improved to 5-0 against teams on the second leg of a back-to-back this season, as the Lakers were coming off their first home win on Sunday night.
Kobe Bryant did not fly to Phoenix after playing 36 minutes on Sunday, but head coach Byron Scott wouldn’t let the rest of the team consider that an excuse.
“I keep hearing about back-to-backs,” Scott said. “That’s, to me, a bunch of crap. It really is. It’s basketball. You come ready to play.”
Scott praised the Suns’ effort, as they hauled in 18 offensive rebounds and outscored L.A. in the paint, 54-32.
Meanwhile, the Lakers couldn’t establish ball movement like in their 24-assist performance on Sunday, finishing with just half of that total — 11 fewer than Phoenix.
“They just outsmarted us,” said Nick Young, who had 13 points off the bench. “They shared the ball, out hustled us. We should learn from this game and learn how they play.”
Notes
Knight became the first player this season with a 30-point triple-double. He joined Bledsoe (twice) as the only Suns since 2006 with a triple-double. … Due largely to Phoenix’s successful outside shooting, Roy Hibbert (14 points) did not have a block for the first time this year. … Metta World Peace scored 10 points in the first quarter and Williams had 10 in the second, but they combined for just eight through the rest of the game. … A sold-out crowd of 18,055 filled Talking Stick Resort Arena.
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