I don't want to rain on the Suns parade. This was a great win. As Marcin Gortat said, it's always a great day when you beat the Lakers.
But if you want to think about this game in a greater context, the win was more about what the Lakers didn't do in the fourth than what the Suns did do. Most notably, when the Suns defensive plan called for double-teaming Kobe (as Dragic explains in the video below), the Lakers didn't adjust their attack to avoid Ron Artest being the guy to take the open threes. He missed three wide open shots in the crucial minutes of the fourth quarter.
Is that good defense? Is that luck? Is that a Lakers team on the second of a back-to-back being lazy?
Yeah.
Of course there's Michael Beasley. We've probably all learned by now not to trust a hot Beasley game, but there's no denying his impact here. At the same time, his final and most crucial bucket was a thing of pure fortune. The ball rolling around on the deck does not normally lead to a bucket. He made it. Props to him.
On the other side, Kobe's iso against Tucker worked. He beat P.J. and got to the rim and just missed a layup that we've seen him make countless times. Props to him.
As an aside, if Dwight Howard doesn't get injured, is Hunter able to play Scola at the five and Beasley at four against Gasol and Dwight? Sometimes the ball bounces your way. Karma. Right, Steve?
So don't worry Suns fans, it's not likely that this win will trigger some kind of lottery ball-killing run. While it certainly does help the Suns in their quest for the Lakers lottery pick and most importantly, IT'S ALWAY GOOD TO BEAT THE LAKERS (regardless of how much luck was involved).
Here's Goran and Gortat on the game: