LeBron James shines as Lakers fall to Suns in second preseason outing

Anthony Davis and LeBron James made their debuts for the Lakers in their second preseason, but it wasn’t enough as the purple and gold fell to the Suns.

The Lakers had an exciting finish in LeBron James and Anthony Davis’ debut on Sunday, but it ended with the familiar result as the purple and gold fell 118-114 to the Suns.

LeBron James and Anthony Davis delivered in their first minutes of preseason action. LeBron ended with 19 points on 8-12 shooting in 16 first-half minutes. AD scored 17 points with eight rebounds and three assists in 18 minutes. Neither played in the second half.

D'Angelo Russell pitched in with 14 points, going 6-12 from the field. Rui Hachimura had a nice game with 13 points and eight rebounds. Austin Reaves pitched in with nine points, six rebounds seven assists and two steals.

A host of young Lakers saw action late in the fourth with Jalen Hood-Schifino, Max Christie, Bronny James, Dalton Knecht and Colin Castleton closing out the game. Christie had 12 points on 3-14 shooting, JHS had nine points and Knecht had seven.

The Lakers jumped to a quick 4-0 lead off a lob from Reaves to AD followed by a driving layup by Reaves. AD also knocked down a 3-pointer and the offense was sizzling for Los Angeles. LeBron was in prime “blocked by James” form, swatting two shots, one of which was on his Olympics teammate Devin Booker.

The Lakers built a comfortable lead of 10. Jaxson Hayes dove for the ball and threw it to LeBron for a dunk that electrified the crowd, helping the Lakers to a nine-point lead after one.

The Lakers did not start the second quarter well offensively. LeBron knocked down a 3-pointer, but nobody else could score and the Suns crept their way up to make it a two-point game. Phoenix continued scoring, but the Lakers woke their offense up and pushed their lead up to nine.

With three minutes left until halftime, the Suns made it a three-point game but LeBron answered with a 3-pointer. The Lakers started pouring on the offense again with LeBron continuing to dominate the quarter. At the half, LA was up 69-57.

The stars were subbed out for both teams to start the second half, which was expected. The Lakers continued their great offense well into the quarter. Cam Reddish got his first minutes of the preseason and made a 3-pointer.

Phoenix made it a four-point game as the quarter began to wind down. As the seconds ticked off, Gabe Vincent banked in a 3-pointer to end the third. Los Angeles was up 95-82.

The final frame saw both teams playing lineups we’ll probably never see after the end of the preseason. Phoenix’s offense was on fire and they made it a one-point game as LA struggled. The Suns took the lead at the six-minute mark, but JHS’s three-point play helped the Lakers retake the lead.

Max Christie entered double digits and put the team on his back with his offensive firepower. LA retook the lead by one. Both teams were competing hard and the young guys were getting their time to shine.

The Suns took a comfortable lead, but the young Lakers kept fighting and cut the deficit to two in the final 12 seconds. Knecht attempted a three for the lead, but it didn’t connect and Phoenix scored on the other end to seal their win.

Key Takeaways:

When the Lakers have LeBron and AD out there, great things happen. Tonight was a nice look at the potential of what we’ll see this season.

Reaves, D’Lo, and Rui all seem to be finding their season form. Rui looks more confident with his shot selections and defense.

The team as a whole looked much more improved in this second preseason game than the first.

The Lakers’ next preseason game is Thursday against the Milwaukee Bucks at 5:00 PM PT.

You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.