To make up for a bad road trip, the Los Angeles Lakers had to beat the Phoenix Suns in the first game of the NBA’s In-Season Tournament on Friday.
Anthony Davis would play again after missing Wednesday’s game against the Houston Rockets. The team really needs someone like him. LeBron James, his co-star, really shone with 32 points, six assists, and 11 rebounds. He made 11 of 17 shots from the field and 3 of 4 from three. He had a tough game by himself.
Kevin Durant, the Suns’ best player, scored 38 points, grabbed nine boards, and gave out five assists. He hit 13 out of 27 shots from the field and 4 out of 6 shots from far away. James and Durant haven’t been able to play together since 2018. Early in the season, seeing the Lakers and Suns play each other has been fun.
In the end, the Lakers won 122-119. James talked about what it was like to play with Durant, since both are very good players and two of the best NBA players of all time.
“Of course, our first game at home this year was against Phoenix.” We told the press after the game and after the game how great it is to always play against KD, who is one of the best players in NBA history. Over the course of our lives, we’ve played each other a lot. We even got to play on the same Olympic team. We’ve both left our mark on this game’s history. I already told you that sharing the stage with him is fun. Like I said, it would be like when we played each other in the summer if we played each other during the regular season and the playoffs. That player is great! There is no better basketball player than him, and it’s always fun to play against him.
There are good things James said about Durant, and it’s clear that Durant likes James. During their careers, they’ve had a lot of well-known fights. They’re almost done with their jobs now. They both still seem to have a lot to offer the game, though, so we can expect games between them to be more intense.
In 2018, James and Durant were both hurt when the Lakers played the Warriors on Christmas Day. The two teams were meant to play. The NBA set up two early season games between the Suns and the Lakers so that fans could see these two big teams play each other at least twice. In the fall, there will be two more games.