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PHOENIX — Despite strong performances from Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura, the Lakers dropped their first game of the season to the Suns, falling 109-105 on Monday night at Footprint Center.
Davis’ 30-point streak to start the season ended at three games.
He finished with 29 points (12-of-24 shooting), 15 rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots.
Reaves scored 23 points (8-for-15 shooting), including 17 in the second half, to go with eight rebounds and three assists.
But with the Lakers trailing 107-104 with 37 seconds left after Davis blocked a Devin Booker jumper that would have put the Suns ahead by five, Reaves missed a potential game-tying open 3-pointer out of a timeout with Booker (game-high 33 points) grabbing the rebound.
The Lakers got another stop while still down 107-104 with eight seconds left, but the Suns intentionally fouled LeBron James, who struggled offensively for most of the game, to prevent him from attempting a potential game-tying 3-point shot.
James made the first free throw and intentionally missed the second, but the Lakers didn’t grab the offensive rebound and Bradley Beal (15 points) sealed the game with a pair of free throws.
Hachimura finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
James was held to 11 points on 3-of-14 shooting, extending his record streak of double-digit scoring performances to 1,226 games but not doing so until late in the fourth.
Kevin Durant had 30 points for the Suns.
In a reversal from their game Friday night in Los Angeles, which the Lakers won 123-116 after erasing a 22-point, second-quarter deficit, the Lakers took a significant lead early.
The Lakers opened an 18-point advantage (26-8) midway through the first quarter and had a 31-15 advantage later in the period behind strong offensive play from Davis, hustle and taking advantage of the Suns’ slow offensive start.
Davis had 16 first-quarter points in nine minutes, with the Lakers also scoring seven second-chance points and getting easy baskets in transition.
But the Suns turned up their defensive intensity.
And the Lakers’ start-of-second and start-of-fourth quarter lineups, which have been an early bright spot, struggled in their minutes without Davis on the floor.
The Suns outscored the Lakers 17-4 in the seven minutes Davis sat between the first and second quarters, helping Phoenix take a 50-48 lead into halftime.
Reaves, Hachimura and D’Angelo Russell (14 points, eight assists) each scored eight third-quarter points, helping the Lakers win the quarter 35-26 and take an 83-76 lead into the fourth.
The Lakers’ start-of-fourth lineup struggled, allowing the Suns to open the quarter on a 14-3 run to take a 90-86 lead.
More to come on this story.
Originally Published:
PHOENIX — Despite strong performances from Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura, the Lakers dropped their first game of the season to the Suns, falling 109-105 on Monday night at Footprint Center.
Davis’ 30-point streak to start the season ended at three games.
He finished with 29 points (12-of-24 shooting), 15 rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots.
Reaves scored 23 points (8-for-15 shooting), including 17 in the second half, to go with eight rebounds and three assists.
But with the Lakers trailing 107-104 with 37 seconds left after Davis blocked a Devin Booker jumper that would have put the Suns ahead by five, Reaves missed a potential game-tying open 3-pointer out of a timeout with Booker (game-high 33 points) grabbing the rebound.
The Lakers got another stop while still down 107-104 with eight seconds left, but the Suns intentionally fouled LeBron James, who struggled offensively for most of the game, to prevent him from attempting a potential game-tying 3-point shot.
James made the first free throw and intentionally missed the second, but the Lakers didn’t grab the offensive rebound and Bradley Beal (15 points) sealed the game with a pair of free throws.
Hachimura finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
James was held to 11 points on 3-of-14 shooting, extending his record streak of double-digit scoring performances to 1,226 games but not doing so until late in the fourth.
Kevin Durant had 30 points for the Suns.
In a reversal from their game Friday night in Los Angeles, which the Lakers won 123-116 after erasing a 22-point, second-quarter deficit, the Lakers took a significant lead early.
The Lakers opened an 18-point advantage (26-8) midway through the first quarter and had a 31-15 advantage later in the period behind strong offensive play from Davis, hustle and taking advantage of the Suns’ slow offensive start.
Davis had 16 first-quarter points in nine minutes, with the Lakers also scoring seven second-chance points and getting easy baskets in transition.
But the Suns turned up their defensive intensity.
And the Lakers’ start-of-second and start-of-fourth quarter lineups, which have been an early bright spot, struggled in their minutes without Davis on the floor.
The Suns outscored the Lakers 17-4 in the seven minutes Davis sat between the first and second quarters, helping Phoenix take a 50-48 lead into halftime.
Reaves, Hachimura and D’Angelo Russell (14 points, eight assists) each scored eight third-quarter points, helping the Lakers win the quarter 35-26 and take an 83-76 lead into the fourth.
The Lakers’ start-of-fourth lineup struggled, allowing the Suns to open the quarter on a 14-3 run to take a 90-86 lead.
More to come on this story.
Originally Published:
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It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for ‘lorem ipsum’ will uncover many web sites still in their infancy.
The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making
The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for ‘lorem ipsum’ will uncover many web sites still in their infancy.
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