The Los Angeles Lakers’ first-ever NBA In-Season Tournament campaign came to an end on Friday night when they took on the Phoenix Suns.

After missing just one game due to injury, Anthony Davis returned to the starting lineup as the Lakers defeated the Suns 122-119 to record their first victory of the season. With three games left, the win surely keeps the Lakers in the running to win Group A.

Darvin Ham chose to insert Cam Reddish in place of Austin Reaves to give the Lakers a more robust lineup. Reddish hit an early basket after stealing the ball and making a corner three-pointer. Given their slow start, the Lakers’ 13–7 lead early in the game was adequate to support their personnel change.

Bradley Beal, who returned from a back ailment to start the second game for Phoenix, helped the team keep a fight going. When Kevin Durant began making three-pointers, the Lakers’ early lead was quickly gone.

The Suns took advantage of their newfound momentum to push their lead to double digits for the first time, which made the Lakers less motivated and less successful offensively.

LeBron James appeared to have injured his leg early on, and by the time the second quarter rolled around, Los Angeles was behind, 34-25. When he was finally cleared to play again, his and Austin Reaves’ playmaking gave the Lakers a boost.

Despite this, the Suns continued their double-digit lead, a trend that has continued the entire season, as the Lakers failed to stop offensive glass turnovers.

Aside from a couple shots by D’Angelo Russell and Taurean Prince, the Lakers seemed uninterested in the first half. After a Beal layup at the buzzer, Los Angeles went into the locker room for the half losing 63-55, while James went into an offensive frenzy to end the second quarter.

After Davis started the third quarter with a quick basket, Jusuf Nurkic answered with five straight points, cutting the lead to four points. James then took the lead back with a brace at the line.

After then, LeBron James started to shoot three-pointers back-to-back, and he tried his hardest to keep the Lakers within striking distance. Russell continued his fantastic night, helping teammates like Davis to make easy baskets.

Just when it looked like the Lakers were closing the gap, Durant made back-to-back three-pointers and a three-point play to put Phoenix ahead by double digits. Thankfully, Reddish’s 3-pointer on the buzzer sent the Lakers into the fourth quarter down 96-79.

James helped Reddish with a transition layup for Rui Hachimura, and when he helped Reaves with a transition three-pointer, the Lakers strangely found themselves ahead for the first time since the first quarter.

After a Suns timeout, Eric Gordon finished the run with a floater, and Reddish scored the game’s third and final basket. Christian Wood’s third triple helped the Lakers extend their advantage to five, forcing Frank Vogel to call another timeout.

Durant helped the Suns restore momentum and maintain an exciting game finale with a few clutch baskets.

With one minute left, Reddish made another enormous corner three-pointer, giving his club a 118-113 lead against the Lakers, who were having difficulty stopping Durant from the midrange.

The Lakers subsequently got the required stop, and Prince finished a layup to end the game.