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Dillon Brooks on how he played against LeBron James for Suns vs Lakers<\/p>\n
Phoenix Suns wing Dillon Brooks details his performance against the Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James, especially late in the game.<\/p>\n
Their last meeting had everything.<\/p>\n
Electric atmosphere. Furious comeback.<\/p>\n
Dillon Brooks and LeBron James going at it all night again, with their final interaction leading to an ejection.<\/p>\n
Clutch free throws with three seconds left.<\/p>\n
One can only hope for an even better encore when the Phoenix Suns<\/a> (15-13) and Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> (19-8) meet again Dec. 23 at Mortgage Matchup Center.<\/p>\n “Try to defend without fouling,” Suns guard Collin Gillespie said. “Show crowds. Play with pace. They’re an older team. We’ve got to get up and down.”<\/p>\n The Suns are coming off a 119-116 loss Dec. 20 at Golden State in a second game in three days against the Warriors, who lost 99-98 Dec. 18 in Phoenix.<\/p>\n “Great fight,” Suns coach Jordan Ott said after the Dec. 20 loss. “Tough environment. This is where you learn, in the fire. These nights. We’ll take a look, and I’m sure there are some possessions we’re going to want back, but overall, again, this is what this group does. Fight, be competitive every night.”<\/p>\n The Suns were outscored 29-20 in the third quarter and trailed 93-87 heading into the fourth after leading by as many as 14 points in the first half.<\/p>\n “This is a team that’ll make you pay for any miscommunication or missed coverage,” Suns star guard Devin Booker said about the Warriors. “Third quarter, it got away from us.”<\/p>\n The Suns fell to the Lakers, 116-114, at home Dec. 14 after rallying from 20 points down in the fourth quarter to take a one-point lead.<\/p>\n Brooks hit a 3 over James with 12.2 seconds left to give the Suns the lead, but he was called for a second technical foul and ejected for unsportsmanlike physical contact with James during a dead-ball situation as the Lakers had called a timeout.<\/p>\n James missed the ensuing technical free throw, but he was later fouled on a 3 by Devin Booker with 3 seconds left. With the crowd going crazy, James missed the first free throw, but he made the next two to put the Lakers up for good.<\/p>\n Luka Doncic scored 29 points to lead the Lakers, while Booker paced the Suns with 27 points. The Lakers clearly won the free-throw game, going 33-of-43 from the line.<\/p>\n Phoenix just 21-of-25. The Lakers also grabbed 24 offensive rebounds that led to 25 second-chance points.<\/p>\n The matchup was a result of both teams losing in the NBA Cup quarterfinals.<\/p>\n The Suns and Lakers have split their first two games, with Phoenix winning 125-108 in Los Angeles on Dec. 1.<\/p>\n They\u2019ll play each other two more times this 2025-26 regular season on Feb. 26 in Phoenix and April 10 in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n Have opinions about the current state of the\u00a0Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at\u00a0dmrankin@gannett.com<\/a>\u00a0or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at\u00a0@DuaneRankin<\/a>.<\/p>\n Support local journalism: Subscribe to\u00a0azcentral.com<\/a>\u00a0today.<\/p>\n