On Thursday night, the Los Angeles Lakers hosted the Phoenix Suns at Acrisure Arena in Palm Springs, marking the end of the preseason.
Lakers head coach Darvin Ham utilized the last preseason game as a dress rehearsal, playing his healthy starters and normal rotations for essentially two and a half quarters in preparation for next week’s second regular season game between these clubs.
While Kevin Durant played and faced LeBron James in a game for the first time since Christmas Day 2018, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal were given the night off by Suns head coach Frank Vogel.
L.A.’s starting five played well, but the bench had trouble keeping up without their starting point guard in the second half, and the Suns cruised to a 123-100 victory. The Lakers concluded the night without any more injuries, which is more crucial than their preseason record of 2-4.
Davis opened the scoring for the Lakers by completing a D’Angelo Russell give-and-go with a beautiful lob. Los Angeles went ahead 7-0 as Davis completed another uncontested dunk, prompting Vogel to use an early timeout.
Out of the break, Durant hit a pair of free throws to put the Suns on the board, but the Lakers remained in control after some great ball movement created space for Austin Reaves’ 3-pointer.
At the same time, Davis was putting on a defensive clinic, blocking five shots in the opening eight minutes. After that, the Lakers’ offensive slowed down, and the Suns were able to fight their way back into the game, eventually taking a 24-20 lead into halftime.
The Lakers got a much-needed boost when Jaxson Hayes came off the bench and scored two quick baskets. James then hit a three-pointer and a transition layup to restore the Lakers’ advantage. However, Durant started to heat up for the Suns with nine consecutive points.
Davis came back into the game and immediately settled things down with a three-pointer and a three-point play. From then, the Lakers began to find success from beyond the arc, as LeBron made two and Reaves made one to restore a double-digit advantage. However, the Suns closed the half on a little run sparked by Durant and Eric Gordon, trimming the lead to 58-54.
Despite the starters for the Lakers getting some court time in the third quarter, Durant’s night was finished before halfway. They were unable to pull away, though, and the final 18 minutes of the exhibition were a fight of the bench staffs.
Without either of their usual point guards, the Lakers were certain to struggle as the third quarter wound down and the Suns took over. After Keita Bates-Diop swished a 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter, their advantage ballooned to 16 points at 89-73.
Max Christie finished the game as point guard for the Lakers, where he earned some vital experience and scored a couple points despite the team’s lopsided loss.
