It sure was nice watching some basketball tonight, wasn’t it?
It was a game that will never touch the standings, yet tonight in Palm Desert, under the preseason lights as the Phoenix Suns opened the 2025–26 campaign against the Los Angeles Lakers, it felt like it mattered. Phoenix stands at an inflection point, a franchise bending its trajectory. New head coach. Fourteen new players. A philosophy that is more blueprint than certainty. This was our first glimpse of what the purple-and-orange could become.
And they impressed.
Communication was sharp, hustle relentless, turnovers forced, offensive rebounds piled high. All the buzzwords Brian Gregory spoke when he stepped into the role of general manager — alignment, identity, accountability — took form on the hardwood. Seeds planted months ago are beginning to break the surface, fragile yet promising, a harvest hinted at beneath the desert lights.
Devin Booker poured in 24 points across 25 minutes, carrying himself like the alpha he once was, before a pair of mercenaries wandered into town and muddied the hierarchy. Dillon Brooks, meanwhile, was everything his reputation promised: relentless, frenetic, a defensive dog gnawing at every matchup in sight.
The scoreboard will tell you 103–81, a preseason footnote with no bearing on April or May. But for a franchise starving for clarity, for cohesion, for a compass pointing north, the signs of potential were etched into the Coachella Valley night. It was a reminder that direction can matter more than the destination when the journey is beginning anew.
Game Flow
First Half
A new season begins in the preseason. Dillon Brooks at power forward, Oso Ighodaro at the five. It’s a lineup that may never resurface when the games truly count, yet it wasted no time offering a glimpse of contrast.
Brooks as the shapeshifter, sliding from perimeter defense on one trip to wrestling with Deandre Ayton in the low post the next. His presence was unavoidable. Relentless energy, versatility as a weapon, the constant chirp toward officials, a body in motion in every frame. Brooks didn’t ease his way into the night, he stamped it.
With Jalen Green unavailable, Grayson Allen slid into the starting lineup and the fit felt natural. The give-and-take with Devin Booker, the way they mirrored and fed off one another, carried a rhythm you could recognize immediately. It wasn’t forced. It wasn’t tentative. It was a welcome sign of chemistry, the kind that hints at something sustainable once the season takes shape.
For a team that lacked hustle a season ago, the opening quarter felt like a recalibration. Every player who checked in carried a pulse of urgency, a sense that effort was non-negotiable. Active hands disrupted passing lanes, pressure turned possessions into opportunities, and by the time the scoreboard read 26–15 with 2:31 left in the first, the Suns had already carved out something that looked a lot like “identity”.*
*I know, I know. It’s only preseason.
Phoenix opened sharp, hitting 42.9% from three in the first quarter (6-of-14), while the Lakers managed only 1-of-7. The Suns forced 6 turnovers and turned them into 6 points, all while committing just 2 of their own. But the number that told the story? 13 second-chance points, nearly matching the Lakers’ entire output for the period.
After one, it was all Suns, 31–16.
The pace dragged in the second quarter as the Lakers stormed out on a 12–3 run, cutting the lead to six. It wasn’t effort that slipped, it was the shooting that cooled. And then, in a scene as familiar as Hollywood reruns, the whistles tilted. Even in preseason, the Lakers find a way to get the calls. Los Angeles shot 22 free throws in the half.
Free throws were the glaring miss in the first half. Phoenix was 8-of-15 from the line. For a team that has to squeeze every ounce of opportunity this season, those freebies can’t be left behind.
We saw more of Devin Booker and Dillon Brooks than expected, each logging 15:36. Booker tallied 14 points on 4-of-9 shooting with 5 assists, while Brooks knocked down all three of his threes for 9 points, added an assist, a rebound, and plenty of well-placed trash talk.
Booker hit us with something we don’t see every day. The sky hook. Or in this case…
The Lakers edged the Suns 28–26 in the second, paced by 9 from Austin Reaves and 7 from Jake LaRavia. Even so, the Suns carried a 57–44 lead into the half.
Second Half
The starters opened the third with a burst, ripping off a 6–0 run capped by a possession that featured three offensive rebounds and ended with a Grayson Allen three. If Jordan Ott’s vision is built on extra possessions, tonight was the blueprint.
Nick Richards added his own stamp, flashing the kind of activity and positioning that anchored the Suns’ success. He denied entry passes, battled with purpose, and played with an authority that set the tone.
The attitude, the effort, the hustle; it all carried through the third.
The ball zipped, the opportunities opened, and Phoenix stretched its lead to 27. The Suns hit 50% from the field while smothering the Lakers to a meager 22.2%.
Extra possessions told the story: six more shots than L.A. in the quarter, led by Devin Booker’s 10 points, Grayson Allen’s five, and Dillon Brooks punctuating it all with a hustle-fueled steal that felt like a statement.
With a little over two minutes left in the third, the curtain lifted on the 10th overall pick of the 2025 draft—Khaman Maluach. First impression? He looks big.
After three quarters, the Suns held a commanding 87–62 lead.
Fleming’s length on defense stood out immediately. Pair that with his athleticism, and you had a rookie flying around with purpose. His closeouts were relentless, the kind of energy that jumps off the floor, and easily the most impressive thing I saw in the final nine minutes.
But as Phoenix sputtered, managing only three points in the first six minutes, the Lakers crept back in. RJ Davis and Dalton Knecht started heating up, sparking a 13–3 run that chipped away at the Suns’ cushion.
The final highlight of the night came via Man Man on a highlight dunk with three minutes left.
Up Next
It’ll be a week before we see Phoenix play again, as they are preparing to head to China to play a pair against the Brooklyn Nets next Friday.
Category: General Sports
