The South Bay Lakers overcame a 19-point first-quarter deficit to route the Valley Suns 129-98 for their fifth consecutive victory Thursday at Mullett Arena.

The Lakers (15-8) were led by a dominant performance from their bench, highlighted by Nick Smith Jr., who scored 30 points on 13-of-16 shooting. Drew Timme, who did not play in the previous night's contest, was a force all over the court, finishing with 25 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals. Bronny James contributed 12 points, while Chris Manon also added 12 points off the bench. Anton Watson scored 11 points, and Luke Goode had nine points and 10 rebounds. South Bay's bench outscored the Suns' reserves 70-13.

For the Suns (8-16), CJ Huntley had 25 points and eight rebounds in the loss. Koby Brea provided outside shooting, scoring all 18 of his points from beyond the arc on 6-of-13 shooting from 3-point range. Three other Suns players finished in double figures, with RJ Nembhard Jr., Kaleb Johnson and Sean McDermott each scoring 14 points. Nembhard also dished out a team-high eight assists.

The Suns started the game on fire, building a 28-9 lead with 5:19 remaining in the first quarter. However, the Lakers flipped the script, outscoring the Suns 72-37 across the second and third quarters to take control of the game. The Lakers' offense was efficient, shooting 57%, and their defense forced 25 turnovers.

Up next: Both teams are back in action Saturday. The Lakers host the Stockton Kings at 8 p.m. ET, and the Suns visit the Texas Legends at 8:30 p.m.

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