Short-Handed Suns Lose to Lakers' Late Surge
PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns - without stars Devin Booker and Bradley Beal - fell short to the Los Angeles Lakers in 100-95 fashion, dropping to 1-1 on the season.
Here's how the action panned out:
PHOENIX SUNS STARTERS
Eric Gordon
Grayson Allen
Josh Okogie
Kevin Durant
Jusuf Nurkic
OUT: Bradley Beal, Devin Booker, Damion Lee
LOS ANGELES LAKERS STARTERS
D'Angelo Russell
Austin Reaves
LeBron James
Taurean Prince
Anthony Davis
OUT: Jalen Hood-Schifino, Jarred Vanderbilt
RECAP
The Lakers got off to a quick 7-0 start with five points coming off turnovers. Phoenix saw the tide turn the other way due to turnovers in their previous win over Golden State, and that trend bled over into the second night of action.
However, the Suns would quickly find their footing and eventually overtake the Lakers for a 14-13 lead halfway through the first. Grayson Allen knocked down his first bucket as a Sun after going 0-6 in the season opener while also driving and kicking to other open players.
Eric Gordon nailed an open three to notch his seventh point of the first and forced a Lakers timeout with Phoenix leading 17-16.
With backup point guard Jordan Goodwin on the court, the former Wizard knocked down a floater to push the Suns' run to 12-0 and their lead to double digits.
The Lakers shot just 35% from the floor and had seven less rebounds than Phoenix, who carried a 30-18 lead into the second quarter. Los Angeles made just one of nine three-point attempts.
The second quarter proved to be LA's for the taking, as the Lakers went on a 20-5 run to take a 38-35 lead at the 5:55 mark, forcing Frank Vogel to take a timeout to settle his troops. LeBron James had seven points and two assists during the run.
The Suns made good on their new message by going on a 15-2 run out of the break and eventually carrying a 52-48 lead into the locker room. Phoenix forced ten turnovers and saw Kevin Durant (15), Gordon (12) and Goodwin (10) in double digits for scoring.
The third quarter again saw Phoenix plagued by turnovers to begin action, though the Suns still maintained a narrow lead over the Lakers - until Durant took over by scoring 15 points in the third quarter and pushing Phoenix ahead 84-72 heading into the fourth quarter.
A quick 6-0 spurt by Los Angeles forced another Vogel timeout, and things only got more tense as Jusuf Nurkic picked his fifth foul up with 7:00 left in the game.
The Suns went cold to begin the fourth quarter, shooting 1-12 from the field. The Lakers didn't fare much better, but a Davis And-1 conversion tied the game at 87-87 with 4:16 left to play.
The ensuing possession, Nurkic committed Phoenix's eight turnover of the quarter which led to a LeBron splitting a double team and finishing a beautiful layup at the other end to take the lead.
Despite Durant tying the game at 91-91 (and passing Hakeen Olajuwon for 12th on the NBA's all-time scoring list), James took over once again and established his dominance around the rim, scoring eight straight points and pushing the Lakers ahead 95-91 with 41 seconds left.
The Suns weren't able to erase the deficit before the buzzer sounded, dropping their first game of the season. Phoenix was outscored 28-11 in the final period of play.
Notable Performances:
Kevin Durant - 39 points, 11 rebounds, two assists, one steal, one block
LeBron James - 21 points, eight rebounds, nine assists, two steals, two blocks
Anthony Davis - 30 points, 13 rebounds, two assists, three steals, three blocks
They'll be back home on Saturday for their opener at the Footprint Center against the Utah Jazz.
