The Los Angeles Lakers’ dismal road trip could only be saved by a victory against the Phoenix Suns in the opening round of the NBA’s postseason tournament on Friday.
After sitting out Wednesday’s game against the Houston Rockets due to illness, Anthony Davis would be returning to provide the club a much-needed lift. While he had offensive difficulties, his teammate LeBron James shone brightly with 32 points, six assists, and eleven rebounds on 11-for-17 shooting from the field and 3-for-4 from deep.
Kevin Durant, a standout for the Suns, scored 38 points and added nine rebounds and five assists, shooting 13-for-27 from the field and 4-for-6 from 3-point range. These two early season matches between the Lakers and Suns have been exciting to watch after James and Durant haven’t been able to play against one other since 2018.
The Lakers prevailed 122-119 in the end, and James discussed what it was like to play with Durant, another great player, on Spectrum SportsNet:
Our first home game this year was against Phoenix, and after the game we spoke to the media about how exciting it is to play one of the game’s all-time greats like KD. We’ve played each other several times throughout the course of our careers, and I even got to play alongside him on the Olympic squad. That’s why, as I mentioned before, sharing the mic with him is always a treat. I’m referring to the times we faced off against each other in the summer or during our careers, in both the regular season and the playoffs. It is a privilege to compete against such a tremendously gifted individual, widely regarded as one of the game’s all-time greats.
Although they have had infamous disputes during their careers, James and Durant clearly hold one other in high regard. Still, James and Durant appear to have more left in the tank, so we can anticipate many more intense matchups between them.
Both James and Durant suffered through their matchup after the Lakers and Warriors played on Christmas Day, 2018. Two games were planned at the beginning of the season between the Suns and the Lakers so that fans could witness their two superstars play head-to-head, and the NBA has scheduled two additional games between the two teams for later in the year.
