Royce O’Neale buried a go-ahead 3-pointer with 0.9 seconds remaining, and the short-handed Suns held off the Lakers on Thursday night.
On the final possession, Grayson Allen drove into the lane and kicked to Collin Gillespie in the corner. Gillespie quickly swung the ball to O’Neale, who knocked down the open look. Austin Reaves missed a corner 3 at the buzzer for Los Angeles.
Allen led Phoenix with 28 points, scoring 16 in the third quarter and hitting four 3-pointers in the period. Gillespie added 21 points, including four 3s in the fourth, as the Suns finished 22 of 50 (44%) from beyond the arc.
Luka Doncic paced the Lakers with 41 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Los Angeles erased a 12-point deficit in the final 6:28, tying the game at 108 on Reaves’ 3-pointer with one minute left. O’Neale answered with a layup before LeBron James tipped in a miss to knot it at 110 with 22.7 seconds remaining.
Phoenix, playing without leading scorers Devin Booker (hip strain) and Dillon Brooks (fractured hand), improved to 2-3 since the All-Star break and topped 100 points in regulation for the first time in five games.
Up next: The Lakers visit Golden State on Saturday night. The Suns travel to Sacramento on Tuesday night.
