Suns rally to hand Lakers first loss
Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) drives against Los Angeles Lakers forward Rui Hachimura, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
PHOENIX — Devin Booker scored 33 points, Kevin Durant added 30 and the Phoenix Suns rallied to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 109-105 on Monday night.
The Lakers took an 83-76 advantage into the fourth, but couldn’t hold on, suffering their first loss of the season after winning three in a row. Durant made back-to-back jumpers to give the Suns a 105-101 lead with 2:17 left.
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LeBron James responded with a 3-pointer with 1:58 left to cut the margin to 105-104, but the Lakers never regained the lead. James finished with 11 points, narrowly extending his NBA-record streak of at least 10 points in a game to 1,226.
READ: NBA: Undefeated Lakers take show on the road starting with Suns
63 PTS for this @Suns duo in their 3rd win of the season!
☀️ DBook: 33 PTS | KD: 30 PTS ☀️ pic.twitter.com/tU1now23D1
— NBA (@NBA) October 29, 2024
The Suns bounced back from an early 18-point deficit to get the win. The Lakers beat the Suns 123-116 on Friday at home after climbing out of an early 22-point hole.
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Austin Reaves hit a 3-pointer with 5:16 left in the first quarter to give the Lakers a 26-8 lead, but the Suns rallied to take a 50-48 lead by halftime. L.A.’s Anthony Davis scored 20 points before the break on 9-of-14 shooting. He finished with 29.
Takeaways
Lakers: The most impressive part of L.A.’s early burst was that James didn’t even take a shot as the team built an 18-point lead. Davis continues to excel as the team’s primary offensive option, shooting 12 for 24 and adding 15 rebounds. James had a tough night, shooting just 3 of 14 from the field.
Suns: It was a rough game for starting center Jusuf Nurkic, who scored just two points in 15 minutes. He was coming off his best game of the season — an 18-point, 14-rebound effort in Saturday’s win over the Mavericks.
READ: NBA: Anthony Davis, Lakers rally in second half to beat Suns
Key moment
Phoenix’s Royce O’Neale hit a crucial 15-foot floater to give the Suns a 107-104 lead with 1:25 left.
Key stat
There were six ties and 14 lead changes.
Up next
Lakers visit Cleveland on Wednesday, and Suns visit the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday.
