After picking up their first Opening Night victory since 2016, the Los Angeles Lakers looked to build off that momentum when they hosted the Phoenix Suns on Friday night.
All of the star power was out at Crypto.com Arena with LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal all suiting up for their respective teams. Ultimately, it was the Lakers who came out on top with a 123-116 victory to improve to 2-0 on the young season.
Durant and Booker hit a pair of early triples to put their team up 12-9. Austin Reaves had six quick points though to help settle the Lakers in.
Phoenix’s hot shooting continued from there though as they were 8-for-11 from deep while the Lakers struggled and looked lethargic, resulting in a 38-23 Suns lead at the end of the first.
The Lakers’ poor defense and the Suns’ 3-point shooting continued into the second with Beal getting in on the action to extend their lead to 48-26. Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht provided his team with a spark, making back-to-back triples to start a run to get the deficit quickly back to 12.
Reaves and Davis then went to work offensively with some two-man game to close the half and the Lakers finished strong to go into the locker room trailing 61-52.
Reaves picked up where he left off to begin the third quarter, making two 3s in a row and then James did the same to get their team all the way back to within one.
The momentum had shifted to the Lakers at that point as Davis went to work in the paint to take the first lead of the night. Gabe Vincent even got in on the action from deep and the Lakers led 87-85 at the end of three quarters.
Reaves was one of the best players on the floor all night and buried another 3 to begin the fourth as the Lakers began to build their lead. He and D’Angelo Russell then connected on back-to-back shots from deep and all of a sudden L.A. led 107-95.
Durant and the Suns tried to make one last push, but they had no answer for Davis, who had another monster night to close out the victory for his team.
What’s next for the Lakers
The Lakers don’t have much time to think about this one as they will return to the court on Saturday night when they host the Sacramento Kings in the second night of a back-to-back at 7:30 p.m. PT.
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