Lakers vs Suns - 12/14

By: Kyle Mucerino
12/15/2025

Over the course of an 82-game season, the best teams find ways to win in a variety of fashions. Sometimes it’s by committee—a different hero every night. Other times, it’s stylistic. Elite teams are malleable, able to adapt to what’s required on a given night depending on the matchup, game flow and the countless variables that come with the rigors of a full NBA schedule.

Up to this point, the Lakers had really shown only one way to win: outscoring opponents and making timely plays in the clutch. That changed Sunday night. In their win over the Phoenix Suns, the Lakers displayed a level of defensive intensity and offensive rebounding scrappiness that had been largely absent this season. The most glaring example came from Jarred Vanderbilt in his triumphant return to the rotation. The efforts of Deandre Ayton, Gabe Vincent and Jake LaRavia should not be overlooked either, with Vincent and LaRavia generating timely steals and deflections throughout the game. Ayton continued his strong season as well, earning the nickname “DominAyton.” He pulled down six of his 13 rebounds on the offensive glass and finished with 20 points on an efficient 10-of-11 shooting.

The ending of Sunday night—featuring an almost epic Lakers collapse, followed by a few favorable calls that allowed LeBron James to seal the game at the free-throw line—will draw plenty of attention. But this game was truly won during the Lakers’ 24–0 run. So let’s dive into the catalysts behind it.

Let’s set the stage: The Suns take a 77-71 lead with 5:28 left in the third.

Two Luka free throws make it 77-73 Suns.

After trading missed shots, LaRavia makes a great defensive stand containing the ball on a Gillespie drive and gets rewarded with a transition layup off the rebound and assist from Luka to make it 77-75 Suns with 4:03 left in the third quarter.

The Suns on their next two possessions miss another couple good looks from three, followed by another LaRavia steal (after he missed a layup), which led to Luka getting fouled on a shot attempt. He makes it 77-77 with 2:48 left in third quarter.

Good on-ball defense by Gabe Vincent leads to a missed shot in which Phoenix gets the offensive rebound, but then throws it away to a darting LaRavia who intercepted the pass, takes it the other way and dumps it off to a rim-running Jaxson Hayes who lays down a ferocious poster, plus the foul. After the made free throw it’s 80-77 Lakers with 2:24 left in the third.

At this point the Lakers are on a 9-0 run in the last three minutes-and-counting.

Next Suns possession featured another great individual effort by Vincent on the ball, stripping it away for a turnover.

Lakers miss a couple shots their next trips down the floor.

Suns then come back and turn it over on an illegal screen. At this point the Suns have missed seven straight shots and had 0 field goals in the last 4:30-and-counting.

Next Lakers possession: LeBron & Luka P&R leading to a LeBron missed layup, Jaxson Hayes offensive rebound and dish back to LeBron who then makes a layup. 82-77 Lakers with 1:14 left in third.

Next Suns possession: Devin Booker comes off a curl screen hounded by LaRavia who then blocks Booker’s shot, takes it down the other way and is blocked himself keeping it 82-77. ANother good defensive play by LaRavia nonetheless.

Suns come down and generate another good look with a Booker pull-up three off of a P&R that’s missed one again. Hayes is fouled on the rebound attempt and with the Lakers in the bonus, gets two free throws. He makes 1-of-2 to make it 83-77 Lakers with 40.7 seconds left in third.

Suns miss another two shots–a 3-pt attempt and then a driving layup which was contested impeccably by Jaxson Hayes leading to the Lakers down on the other end generating a Luka P&R ending with a three in the corner drilled by Gabe Vincent with 0.9 seconds left in the third.

It’s 86-77 Lakers after the third quarter. Phoenix failed to score the final five-and-a-half minutes of the third going 0-10 from the field–some of it because of great Lakers effort and defense, other possessions they just missed open looks.

Jared Vanderbilt comes into the game and makes a great block to start the 4th, leading to a LeBron layup on the other end to give the Lakers a 88-77 lead.

Gabe Vincent then draws an offensive foul on an illegal screen on the Suns next possession.

Lakers and Suns then trade misses on their next possessions.

Lakers then come down and get another offensive rebound–they’re 20th at this point in the game–leading to LaRavia three throws to make it 90-77 Lakers with 10:30 left in the 4th.

The Suns at this point have missed 12 straight field goal attempts.

Suns miss again due to swarming Lakers defense. The Lakers then come down on offense and get more free throws on a LeBron to Hayes lop attempt. Hayes makes both FTs to make it 92-77 Lakers with 9:56 left in the 4th.

Vanderbilt then makes another great play on defense, forcing a steal leading to a LaRavia 3-pt attempt in transition that misses but is rebounded by Vanderbilt. It then leads to a LeBron made 3-pt attempt as the Lakers stretch the lead out to 95-77 with 9:28 left in the 4th. Timeout Suns.

The run ends with the Suns making two FTs.

All-in-all it was a 24-0 run over 7:50 of gametime.

Sure, the Suns missed a number of open looks during that stretch—shots that would typically be considered good ones—but there’s something to be said for the tenacity the Lakers played with throughout the run. Crashing the offensive glass, chasing shooters around screens, playing with active hands and feet and jumping passing lanes for deflections and steals all build on one another. That kind of sustained pressure can cause opponents to hesitate or overthink, which in turn helps force misses even on quality looks. Considering the Lakers endured multiple scoring droughts of their own—including a rough stretch late that nearly cost them the game—this 24-0 run ultimately spearheaded the win Sunday night.

For the Lakers to pull out this victory with Luka shooting 7-of-25 from the field and 2-of-14 from three, while committing 21 turnovers as a team, underscored a different path to winning. Jarred Vanderbilt made a major impact with six offensive rebounds in just 15 minutes. Deandre Ayton added six offensive boards of his own and finished with 20 points on an efficient 10-of-11 shooting. Jake LaRavia, despite going 2-of-9 from the floor, contributed across the margins with multiple deflections, steals and strong defensive possessions, finishing a +13 in his 21 minutes.

The value of Vanderbilt and LaRavia is especially apparent in games like this. They look like the Lakers’ most active and effective defensive wings, and their impact illustrates what this team can be when that level of energy is present alongside Luka, Austin, LeBron and the Ayton/Hayes frontcourt.