Midway through the third quarter, there was a soft buzz from the crowd, the kind of sound you might hear at a busy bus stop rather than fans cheering for an NBA title contender’s first home game of the season. The noise from the game.
But you can’t blame people for reacting to what they saw, and the Lakers didn’t quite put on a show.
By the end of the night, however, the Lakers’ home court erupted, forcing turnovers to push for their first win of the season.
read more: Five takeaways from the Lakers’ early-season loss to the Nuggets
With the score tied, LeBron James faced the Phoenix Suns defense and broke through the basket to score. And then he did it again.
The Nets injected energy into the game and ultimately won 100-95 without the Lakers’ best players.
“We know when the money comes down to the game, or when the game is close, we know we can make some moves and we know we’re going to at least get a good chance or a good shot,” James said.
After the moves they made in the offseason to create continuity, the Lakers looked like a bunch of basketball strangers, with any semblance of identity sticking around for a turn or two and then disappearing.
“It’s not what I wanted, but it’s okay because it’s only the second game of the season,” James said of the team’s cohesion. “I’m not expecting it to go all the way to where we want it to be. “We’re trying to integrate new pieces into the system, so it’s going to take time. “
But a fourth-quarter stoppage — the Suns shot 26.3 percent from the field and committed seven turnovers in the quarter — allowed the Lakers to erase a 12-point deficit and beat Kevin Duran. A special 37 points.
Anthony Davis scored 30 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter, and James scored 21 points. James played 35 minutes, five more than the unofficial goal set by the coaches and medical staff this season.
Entering the fourth quarter, Lakers head coach Davon Hamm and James talked about the 21-year-old veteran’s playing time, and Hamm asked him how he felt.
“I looked at the time and the score and what was going on in the game and it was an easy answer for myself,” James said. “I know how much hard work I put in to be able to play in the quarterfinals or whatever happens. I know we’ve definitely got a system in place, but tonight required me to think outside the box.”
While the Nuggets’ unity was largely to blame for the Lakers’ loss in the opener in Denver, more troubling issues like effort and toughness nearly cost the Lakers Game 2.
The Lakers were killed on the rebound, and the Suns quickly scored more than a dozen points with offensive rebounds. Even with Devin Booker and Bradley Beal sidelined with injuries, the Suns withstood a slow start from Durant while the Lakers fired off outside shots.
It wasn’t until the fourth quarter that the Lakers defense, with the efforts of backups Gabe Vincent and Christian Wood, began to get enough stops to gain momentum and start an offense.
“C. Wood does a great job of getting physical with him and allowing him to take tough shots,” Davis said. “When he misses the shot, our job is to rebound it and not give them a second chance.”
The Lakers play again in Sacramento on Sunday.
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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.