LeBron James, Kevin Durant put on a show, but Lakers fall to Suns in preseason finale
THOUSAND PALMS — LeBron James raced to the basket on one end. Kevin Durant swished an arcing jumper on the other. Frank Vogel, now the Suns coach, called James and Durant “two iconic figures in the game of basketball today.”
And even though it was the preseason, the two on the floor together for the first time since 2018 was a fitting capper.
Playing in front of a sold-out crowd at the Acrisure Arena just outside of Palm Springs, the Lakers’ regulars went through their final rehearsal before opening the season Tuesday in Denver.
The Durant-James duel delivered. The Lakers? Not so much.
Phoenix used a big second half to dominate the Lakers, 123-100, their fourth loss of the six-game preseason
James scored 19, Anthony Davis had 15 and six blocks in 23 minutes and Austin Reaves added 14 points. Durant, playing without fellow stars Devin Booker and Bradley Beal beside him, had 21, all in the first half.
The Lakers bench struggled throughout the game, badly missing a facilitator with Gabe Vincent (back) and Jalen Hood-Schifino (knee) both out. Cam Reddish, Rui Hachimura and Christian Wood combined to shoot three for 13 with no assists. Reddish was a minus-28, Hachimura a minus-30 and Wood a minus-35.
The Lakers were outscored 35-15 in the third quarter despite playing their starters for a shift against the Suns reserves.
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