On Thursday, the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Phoenix Suns 100-95 at home and achieved their first victory of the 2023-2024 season. The victory or defeat of this game was due to the outstanding performance of the Los Angeles people in the final quarter.
Expectations are high for this matchup, especially since it’s the first time LeBron James and Kevin Durant have met in an official NBA game since Christmas 2018.
Team consists of
LeBron won, but Durant had a better record, scoring 39 points, 11 rebounds and 2 assists
In comparison, the Lakers star had 21 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists.
After Thursday’s victory, LeBron moved to 16-6 in the regular season, while Durant can be proud to have defeated “James” in two NBA Finals (2017 and 2018) with the Golden Bulls. King” State Warriors.
Additionally, the Suns star passed the legendary Hakeem Olajuwon during tonight’s game and currently ranks 12th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list with 26,949 points.
In itself, Anthony Davis had 30 points and 12 rebounds for the Locals, who were unable to count on Devin Booker and Bradley Beal due to ailments.
The Lakers chased closely in the first three quarters
The match between the two Western Conference leaders started off in brilliant fashion for Davon Hamm’s side, who took a +7 partial lead in the early stages.
but
It didn’t take long for Arizona to forge new connections between Jusuf Nurkic, Grayson Allen, Eric Gordon and, of course, Durant
ended the first quarter with a stable score of 18-30.
LeBron, 39, who is in his 21st season in the NBA, tried to pull away with the help of Davis in the second quarter, but their defensive fragility forced them to always be held back.
exactly Cal has a ton of new faces on the team – like Gabe Vincent, Taurean Prince, Jaxon Hayes or Christian Wood– People who are still getting used to the purple and gold discipline.
Even so, Davis’ outside shooting and LeBron’s textbook breakthrough allowed the Lakers to reverse the score (38-35) midway through the second quarter.
It seemed very demanding at the time
Head coach Frank Vogel returns to Los Angeles after handing team ring to Lakers in 2020
he immediately put Durant back on the court and returned.
That’s what’s said, as the forward stepped up and commanded the Suns once again, with Durant’s own scoring, Bosnian center Nurkic’s defensive supremacy (nine rebounds before halftime) and Jordan Goodwin’s offense Contribution, the Suns entered halftime with a 52-48 lead.
Phoenix Suns finally blame loss
When Phoenix came here, it suffered two important losses due to injuries. Booker and Beal, as well as Durant, should be the reference. Arizona has assembled a promising “Big Three” for this class.
Beal, the new player signed from the Washington Wizards, also failed to participate in the first game, but Booker played a key role in the first game against the Warriors.
Still, Durant surrounded himself with Goodwin and Gordon, rendering the attempts of Austin Reeves and Davis useless when Ham benched LeBron. Stop the team from collapsing.
The Lakers’ outside shooting was difficult to define and failed to succeed in this quarter, which meant that the Suns entered the final quarter calmly at 72-84.
However, the same thing happened again to Phoenix: they started the final quarter without Durant, and the Los Angelesans cut the visitors’ lead to just 2 points.
AFP
Durant was at it again, but a couple of turnovers, missed free throws and a foul from LeBron himself meant the Lakers managed to turn the score around. Along with Solvent “King James” and Davis, Davis ended up being the purple and gold’s top scorer.
The Lakers went on a 28-11 run in the final quarter to help them win the game, with Durant eventually missing Booker and Beal.