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Lakers come back from down 22 to defeat Suns 123-116

Oct 25, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis (3) against Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic (20) during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images

The Phoenix Suns started off hot against the Los Angeles Lakers, going up by as much as 22 in the first half, but then let L.A. come back and cruise in the second half to a 123-116 victory.

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Phoenix dropped to 1-1 with the loss and showed a lot of lapses with turnovers and on defense in its second game of the year. Los Angeles shot 9-for-13 (69.2%) from 3 as a team in the second half after going 5-for-14 (35.7%) in the first half. Phoenix had 17 turnovers on the night leading to 26 Lakers points after having 22 turnovers in its season-opening win over the Los Angeles Clippers Wednesday.

Anthony Davis ended with a game-high 35 points on 11-of-18 shooting to go along with eight rebounds, four assists and two blocks for Los Angeles (2-0). Austin Reaves proved to be a problem for the Suns all night with 26 points and eight assists. Phoenix was able to contain LeBron James in the first half, but he scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half and also had eight assists and four rebounds.

Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal all started off the game on a high note, but Booker (23 points and four assists) and Beal (15 points and nine assists) really struggled after the midway point of the second quarter, going 6-for-19 combined in the second half. Durant and Tyus Jones (14 points on 5-of-8 shooting and four assists) kept Phoenix in it in the second half, as Durant finished with a team-high 30 points on 11-of-17 shooting to go along with six assists and four rebounds, but it was not enough.

The Suns once again closed with a small lineup of Jones, Beal, Booker, Royce O’Neale and Durant after Jusuf Nurkić struggled. Nurkić ended with four points on 1-of-5 shooting, seven rebound, four assists and four turnovers in 18 minutes.

Phoenix did have a terrific first quarter and beginning of the second, going 12-for-18 (66.7%) from 3 in the first half, including a stretch of nine 3-pointers in a row. However, the Suns shot 5-for-19 (26.3%) from deep in the second half and finished 42-for-82 (51.2%) from the floor overall. One encouraging stat for Phoenix was 35 assists on its 42 made field goals.

The Lakers shot 40-for-75 (53.3%) for the game and had 33 assists as a team to 13 turnovers. Los Angeles shot 22 more free throws than Phoenix, going 29-of-39 (74.4%) from the line compared to 15-of-17 (88.2%) for the Suns.

Suns come out rolling

After some early turnovers, the Suns looked really connected in the first quarter, led by Booker (10 points in quarter) and Durant (seven points in quarter). At the end of the first, they led 38-23 and were 8-for-11 (72.7%) from 3 and had 14 assists on 15 made field goals (on 22 attempts).

Phoenix held James to only two points on 1-of-4 shooting in the quarter, as the Lakers conversely shot 8-for-18 (44.4%) in the quarter and 1-for-5 (20%) from deep. The Lakers had four turnovers in the first, while Phoenix had five.

Turnovers allow Lakers back into game

The Suns kept up their hot streak to start the second quarter, making their first four shots to go on a 10-2 run to start the quarter. They were able to get their made 3-pointer streak up to nine carrying over from the first before finally missing. After his impressive preseason, rookie Ryan Dunn started off the game going 3-for-3 from 3.

Midway through the quarter, Los Angeles went on a 9-1 run to cut what was once a 22-point Suns lead to 56-44 with 3:02 to go in the first half, as Phoenix got turnover-happy again.

The Suns had eight turnovers in the quarter alone, but still led 61-52 at halftime. Booker had a team-high 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting, while Durant was up to 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting and three rebounds. Beal carried his momentum over from the opener with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting and eight assists.

As a team, the Suns had 21 assists and shot 24-for-39 (61.5%) from the field in the half and 12-for-18 (66.7%) from 3 compared to 18-of-37 (48.6%) shooting and 5-of-14 (35.7%) 3-point shooting for L.A. Davis had a game-high 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting at halftime.

Lakers re-take lead heading into 4th quarter

The Lakers quickly made this a one-possession game with a 8-2 run to start the third quarter. James then hit two-straight 3-pointers and Davis made two free throws a few possessions later to give L.A. a 68-67 lead with 8:35 left in the quarter, as it came back from down as many as 22 points at the beginning of the second quarter.

With under four minutes remaining in the period, Jones scored his first five points of the game to build on a 9-2 run, as Phoenix led 81-74 with 2:58 to go in the third. The Lakers responded with a 9-0 run to go up 83-81 with just over a minute left.

Heading into the fourth quarter, the Lakers led 87-85, as James and Davis both had 11 points in the quarter and combined to shoot 8-for-10 from the floor. In comparison, Booker and Beal combined for only six points in the quarter on 3-for-13 shooting.

The Suns shot 2-for-12 from 3 in the period, while L.A. went 5-for-7 from deep. Perhaps the lone positive of the period was 0 turnovers for Phoenix.

Lakers sustain lead to close out victory

The Lakers quickly built their lead to seven points at the beginning of the fourth after a 3-pointer by Reaves.

After this lead got to 10, Jones once again had a consecutive scoring streak, but the Lakers responded with two-straight 3-pointers and went up 107-95 with six minutes remaining. At this point, Los Angeles was 8-for-10 from 3 in the second half and 3-for-3 in the quarter.

Durant attempted to bring Phoenix back, but was the only one hitting on his shots. Los Angeles continued to get whatever it wanted offensively after the Suns went to the small lineup and cruised to a 123-116 victory.

Next Up

The Suns play again tomorrow night in their home opener against the Dallas Mavericks (1-0).

Suns rule out key player late against Lakers

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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau

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