Kevin Durant and LeBron James both lived up to the expectations placed on them. Not so much for the rest of the Phoenix Suns, though.

October 19, 2023, Palm Desert, California, USA: In the first quarter at Acrisure Arena, Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35), a guard, blocks Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23). 

James and the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Phoenix Suns 100-95 on Thursday, overcoming a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter. The previous regular season matchup between these two superstars had not taken place in almost five years.

It wasn’t the most visually appealing game, but. To start, Durant’s two most important Suns teammates, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, were both injured. This is not a positive development for a team that didn’t have much depth to begin with.

For the most of the game, it seemed as though this did not matter because Durant led the Suns to a double-digit lead by the conclusion of the third quarter. If the predicted contenders had defeated a healthy Lakers team in their home arena in the season’s opening game, it would have made a big statement. But the Suns’ offense collapsed to an unfathomable extent, and they were unable to secure the victory.

Final score and outcome of the Lakers vs. Suns: LeBron James leads Los Angeles to a thrilling victory in a matchup with Kevin Durant | Sporting News India

In the final two minutes of play and the start of the fourth quarter, the Suns managed to score three points. Durant’s three-pointer scored the final score. The Lakers won the game handily, so they did not need to play at their best. They outscored the Suns 19-3 in that ten-minute period, even though Durant was playing ice cold and none of his teammates appeared to be offensive players on par with him.

Throughout the entire game, there was bad ball handling, poor shooting, and poor communication. It was a series of bad choices, and going up against James and Anthony Davis is never a smart move. With ten seconds remaining in the quarter, Jordan Goodwin scored the lone basket. With the exception of Kevin, every other Suns player had a cumulative field goal percentage of 1 for 9 throughout that time.

Durant got hot to keep the Suns in the game when it mattered most, but it accomplished nothing more than set up James for the game-winning basket. The Cavaliers succeeded in winning.

After a five-year break, fans are excited about LeBron James of the Lakers taking on Kevin Durant of the Suns | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors | Bleacher Report

Durant finished with 39 points on 14-of-28 shooting (1-of-4 from 3-point range) and 11 rebounds, while James finished with 21 points, nine assists, eight rebounds, two steals, two blocks, and five turnovers. James committed five mistakes. Durant recorded two blocks and two steals. after he played for 39 minutes, the Suns were able to outscore the Lakers by 18 points; yet, after he left the court for nine minutes, the Suns lost by 23 points.

On Wednesday, those who thought the Suns had brought together the right supporting cast to win games in the absence of great players did not have the best night.

Overall, Davis had an outstanding performance, tallying 30 points, 13 assists, three blocks, and three steals. In addition, he got three steals and a block. Coming from a player who was heavily criticized for failing to score in the second half of the Lakers’ season-opening loss to the Denver Nuggets, that is an extremely harsh answer. James, nevertheless, claimed following the game that Davis was unaffected by the criticism:

After a crushing loss to the Suns, the listless Lakers are headed for elimination | NBA | The Guardian

Regarding the criticism aimed at AD, we don’t give a damn. We don’t give a damn. Nothing at all bothers us. AD is unaffected by it. I doubt you people have figured that one out just yet. AD doesn’t give a damn. He is unaware of all that garbage since he does not utilize social media. He speaks to us nearly exclusively when he does. We therefore don’t give a damn about it. There’s no doubt about it. just walked out of his house to go about his work. It is a pleasure to have him here with us.

While the Phoenix Suns have three days to recuperate before facing the Utah Jazz on the same day, the Sacramento Kings will present another test for Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.