The NBA offseason has come and gone as the Los Angeles Lakers returned to the court for some preseason action against the Phoenix Suns at Acrisure Arena in Palm Springs on Friday night.
The Lakers were missing some key players, including LeBron James and Marcus Smart, and the Suns took advantage by running away with an easy 103-81 victory.
With his co-stars out, Austin Reaves was the Lakers’ lead guard and kicked off the scoring with a triple, although Grayson Allen responded with one of his own for the Suns.
Reaves had the first five points of the game for L.A. and then Rui Hachimura had the next four to give his team an early lead. That was short-lived, however, as Allen ripped off five straight points to force JJ Redick to call a timeout.
Redick said before the game that players would play in 4-6 minute bursts and he stuck true to that as Dalton Knecht, Bronny James and Jaxson Hayes were among the early subs.
The Lakers were playing sloppy early, as could be expected in the preseason. They were missing free throws and committing costly turnovers, resulting in the Suns leading 31-16 at the end of the first quarter. Reaves (9) and Hachimura (4) had 13 of L.A.’s 16 points.
Reaves picked up where he left off to begin the second, attacking the basket at will. Jake LaRavia’s first bucket as a Laker was a corner triple to get the deficit back to single digits.
The Lakers actually got within three after a 3-pointer by Hachimura, but the Suns ended the first half on another run to build their lead back up to double digits at 57-44.
Phoenix scored six straight points to begin the second half, forcing another timeout by Redick. Things started to get ugly from there as the Lakers couldn’t buy a bucket. Devin Booker heated up from deep to extend the Suns lead to 70-47.
At that point, Redick began to pull his starters and give some other players a look to finish out the game. In 21 minutes of action, Reaves led the way with 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting with three rebounds and two assists.
The Lakers went into the fourth quarter trailing 87-64, although preseason is more about reps and showing the coaching staff what you are capable of.
In this one, it was RJ Davis that made the most of his opportunity with some impressive fourth quarter play to finish out the night.
What’s next for the Lakers
The Lakers will now hit the road for a preseason matchup with the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. PT.
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