LeBron James leads Lakers to victory with inspired performance against Phoenix

Katia CastorenaESPN Digital WriterOct 27, 2023, 07:20 ETLreading: 4 min.

Lakers win 100-95 over Phoenix with an inspired LeBron James at the end

The Los Angeles star ended up being the figure of victory, after scoring 21 points, with 10 of those in the fourth quarter, while Anthony Davis added 30 points. For the Suns, Kevin Durant scored 39 points.

The Lakers overcame a 12-point deficit to beat the Suns, their first home win of the season.

THE ANGELS — Los Angeles Lakers they added their first home win thanks to a great effort of LeBron James in the final stretch of the game to overcome a 12-point deficit and beat 100-95 Phoenix Suns, Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena.

“It’s second nature to Anthony (Davis) and me. We’ve been doing this for five years, we know when it’s ‘Money Time’, what we can do when the game gets close, some plays that will at least give us a good look to shoot. We were able to do that this game and execute,” LeBron James shared in a postgame press conference.

Kevin Durant and LeBron James compete for the ballAndrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images

Prior to the season there had been talk of minute management for the Los Angeles star, who is starting his 21st NBA season and about to turn 39 years old. However, that was put aside when LeBron played every minute of the fourth quarter to boost his team; James scored 10 of his 21 points on the night in the fourth quarter.

“Coach Ham asked me how I felt going into the fourth quarter. I looked back at the clock and the scoreboard, what was happening in the game. He told me that he still had all his timeouts to give us the break and it was an easy answer for me,” LeBron James shared.

Anthony Davis contributed a double-double of 30 points and 13 rebounds in the victory, in addition to double figures from D’Angelo Russell (14) and Austin Reaves (10).

Incredible as it may seem, it was the first time since the Christmas Day game in 2018 that LeBron James and Kevin Durant faced each other. For various reasons of injuries, restrictions or health protocol, they had not faced each other again. Duel of the titans for the fans tonight!

“I always enjoy when I have the chance to face KD. We have had so many duels. With his career and my career, we have been able to make so many plays for our respective teams, we also shared an Olympic Games. We don’t have many matches left, so we always try to take advantage of having one of the best players in this sport. It’s always a pleasure, it’s fun,” James shared about Kevin Durant.

Kevin Durant had a double-double performance for Phoenix with 39 points and 11 rebounds, however, it was not enough for a weakened Suns who were without Devin Booker and Bradley Beale due to injury.

The now Suns coach, Frank Vogel, received a tribute on his return to the Los Angeles Arena since making the Lakers champions in 2020.

The next game for the Angelenos is Sunday against the Sacramento Kings.

2023-10-27 11:20:00
#LeBron #James #propels #Lakers #home #win