The Los Angeles Lakers were able to capture a two-point victory on Friday night with their No. 2 draft pick leading the way. Rookie Lonzo Ball put in a big performance after failing to do much in his NBA season debut. Brandon Ingram and Brooke Lopez also stepped up in the team's first win of the season. Here's the latest Lakers vs. Suns recap with top players, game stats, a standings update, and what's next for these two NBA teams.
NBA game recap
The Lakers started out the first quarter with a 40-36 run, but then the home team charged back to a 37-30 scoring pace in the second to take a lead into halftime.
In the third quarter, it was all Lakers again with a 36-26 outscoring of the home team. Phoenix tried to stage a fourth-quarter comeback and had a 31-26 finish but fell two points shy of tying things up. The Lakers escaped with a 132-130 victory.
Rookie Lonzo Ball was the catalyst for the Lakers' win, and it was likely due to the fact he didn't have Patrick Beverley harassing him on defense. Ball scored 29 points on 12-for-27 shooting, dished out nine assists and collected 11 rebounds. Teammate Brooke Lopez also had a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Brandon Ingram scored 25 points on 9-for-14 shooting. Kyle Kuzma came off the bench to add 15 points, while Jordan Clarkson had 17.
The Phoenix Suns had big scoring nights from several players in the losing effort. Eric Bledsoe shot 10-for-18 and had 28 points, while Devin Booker had 25 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists. T.J. Warren shot 9-for-18 and had 24 points, while rookie Josh Jackson scored 12 points. All five starting players scored in double figures, as did Mike James from off The Phoenix bench.
For the game, the Lakers hit 51.1 percent of their field goals while Phoenix shot at a rate of 48.9 percent. Both teams shot well from three-point range as the Suns hit 48.3 percent and Lakers hit 46.2 percent from downtown. In the teams' rebounding battle, Phoenix won 62-52. Turnovers were about even with Phoenix's 20 just one more than the visitors had for the game.
What's up next?
The L.A. Lakers are now 1-1 for their season with a 1-0 away record. They'll try to make it two-straight wins when they host the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday at 9:30 PM Eastern Time.
The Phoenix Suns are winless with an 0-2 overall record and an 0-2 record on their home court. The Suns are back in action tonight when they visit the Los Angeles Clippers starting at 10:30 PM Eastern Time.