NBA highlights on Jan. 11: Beal plays his best game since joining Suns

The Phoenix Suns beat the Los Angeles Lakers 127-109 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, on Thursday, ending their three-game losing streak against the purple and gold.

The Suns' "Big Three," Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, combined to score 86 points, 16 rebounds and 14 assists. Durant and Booker each had three steals. Booker shot 6-for-10 from the field in the first quarter to get 16 points, enabling his side to sit on a big lead of 11 points (36-25) early in the game.

However, Beal was the best-performing one of the three. He made eight of his 11 field goals (FGs), all jumpers, in the third quarter to get 20 of his court-high 37 points in this period alone. Such sharp work shut down the Lakers' rally and further extended the Suns' lead to 27 points (105-78), discouraging the opponents' starting lineup from coming back in the final quarter.

It's essential for Beal to play like this for the Suns' Big Three to work offensively. The team has no solid orchestrator, which makes them even more reliant on the three to attack off the dribble with both efficiency and resolution. Beal, as the new kid at school – because he joined the team later than both Durant and Booker – hadn't met the team's expectations of him.

There were different reasons behind this. First, it's never easy for three stars to work in combination, especially when all three are used to playing off the dribble. Second, Beal has made only 14 appearances for the Suns so far this season due to injuries. Third, he hadn't been able to give full play to his talents as a scorer as he played the most off the ball of the three.

The Lakers invested most of their defensive attention to Durant first and then to Booker as well in Thursday's game, which allowed and also forced Beal to shoulder more offensive duties off the dribble. With a complete set of attacking skills facing the rim, Beal shot to kill against the purple and gold, both from downtown and in the middle range. Whoever was sent to guard him couldn't slow him down after he was in the zone.

Durant was comfortable playing mainly as a defensive distraction on Thursday night. Both he and Booker delivered five assists. Neither are master playmakers, but they did good enough ball distributions jobs when two of the Big Three were in superb form on the offensive end.

The Lakers threw in the towel at the beginning of the fourth period by keeping their regular rotations on the bench. The team were not energetic enough on both ends of the game during most time. They were beaten by the Suns in steals (12-8) and turnovers forced (18-12). More importantly, the Lakers' turnovers translated into 28 points for the Suns. By contrast, the home team got most of their 21 points via the opponents' turnovers during the garbage time.

The Lakers had no one reach 20 points on Thursday night. Anthony Davis had 13. LeBron James got only 10.

Other games on Thursday (away teams come first):

Boston Celtics 102-135 Milwaukee Bucks

Whoever had expected to see a close contest at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, must have been disappointed because the game was very much decided in the first half. The Bucks led 75-38 after the first two quarters and launched a 25-0 run in the second period. Giannis Antetokounmpo scored double-double of 24 points and 12 rebounds in addition to six assists in 25 minutes. Bobby Portis added 28 points and 12 rebounds off the bench in less than 22 minutes.

The 33-point margin made both the biggest win for the Bucks and the biggest loss for the Celtics this season. Trailing by 37 points also made the worst halftime deficit for the Celtics since 1967. Jayson Tatum got only seven points, watching his 163-game streak of scoring double-digit points end.

New York Knicks 124-128 Dallas Mavericks

Kyrie Irving took the Mavericks to victory at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, on Thursday, in the absence of Luka Doncic. He got 18 points in the first half for his side to lead 74-55. When the Knicks kept cutting down their deficit thanks to the excellent performances of Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson in the second half, Irving stood out again, contributing 26 points in the third and the fourth periods, making sure that the Mavericks didn't let the victory slip away.

Getting 44 points also set a career high for Irving as a Maverick. He scored over 30 points in all of the past three games, the longest streak this season.

Brooklyn Nets 102-111 Cleveland Cavaliers

Portland Trail Blazers 77-139 Oklahoma City Thunder