The Los Angeles Lakers hosted the Phoenix Suns on Thursday night in the home opener in search of their first win of the young NBA season. NBA SEASON. While it marked the first time LeBron James and Kevin Durant shared the court in a game that counts, the Suns were without their other two stars, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. As a result, the Lakers were able to pick up their first win, beating the Suns 100-95.
Los Angeles Defends Its Home
Lakers coach Darvin Ham knew there could be obstacles in his team's home opener against the Suns, despite the fact that their opponent would be without two of their top three players, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal.
Although the Suns would be a different team without two of their stars, Ham knew they could not be underestimated.
The Lakers got off to a quick 7-0 lead with two baskets by D'Angelo Russell and a three-point play by Anthony Davis before Josh Okogie hit a three-pointer for the Suns.
However, as is becoming a trend, the Lakers struggled with defensive rebounding early on and the Suns took advantage with some three-pointers to take their first lead of 17-16 midway through the first quarter.
A timeout didn't work for the Lakers, as they continued to struggle on defense, and Phoenix built a double-digit 30-18 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Lakers played with improved energy early in the second quarter, putting together a 6-0 run before Eric Gordon completed a three-point play.
With Durant off the court, the Suns predictably struggled, and the Lakers regained the lead after a three-pointer by Davis and a dunk by James after a nice pass from Gabe Vincent.
However, Durant returned and LeBron went to the bench, prompting a mini-slump by the Suns and another lead change. With Durant scoring from mid-range, the Lakers were down 52-48 at halftime, despite a three-pointer by James late in the first half.
They are the best 🫶 https://t.co/efHE73Lxpz
- Los Lakers (@LosLakers) October 27, 2023
Lakers Set the Pace in the Game
After a relatively quiet first half, Davis and Austin Reaves began to stand out for the Lakers early in the third quarter, although the Suns responded with some timely three-pointers.
As the quarter progressed, the Lakers struggled on offense and found no answer for Durant on the other end of the court. After Durant beat the horn with a jumper, the Lakers trailed 84-72 at the end of the third quarter.
With Durant starting the final quarter on the bench, the Lakers needed to make another run to get back in the game, and that's exactly what they did with six straight points, forcing a quick timeout for the Suns.
The run extended to 10-0 before Durant came back and stopped it with an important three-pointer. Although the Lakers tried to continue to fight their way back into the game, their inability to make baskets hurt them, although the Suns' shooting effectiveness wasn't much better.
Davis finally hit a three-point play in the paint, tying the game 87-87 with four minutes to go.
From there, James attacked the rim with four straight points to give the Lakers a 95-91 lead. With the Suns struggling on offense, that was enough to seal the game.
