Game ID: 22300076
Phoenix Suns @ Los Angeles Lakers
Thursday, October 26, 2023 at 10:00 PM ET
Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
LAL 18 30 24 28 100PHX 30 22 32 11 95
LAL vs PHX ScoutingLAL vs PHX Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
LAL availability going into 10/24 · season opener
full strength
LAL availability going into 10/26 · 1 day's rest
full strength
LAL availability going into 10/29 · 2 days' rest
full strength
LAL availability going into 10/30 · back-to-backOUT Christie missed 2 since 10/26, out tonight
NEW Vincent 18 to 30 min over the last 3
LAL availability going into 11/01 · 1 day's restOUT Christie missed 3 since 10/26, returns tonight: 22 min (155% of 14)
NEW Vincent 18 to 28 min over the last 4
LAL availability going into 11/04 · 2 days' restOUT Hachimura missed 2 since 10/30, out tonight
BACK Christie back 11/01 after 3, 22 min since (155% of 14)
NEW Vincent 18 to 28 min over the last 4
PHX availability going into 10/24 · season opener
full strength
PHX availability going into 10/26 · 1 day's rest
full strength
PHX availability going into 10/28 · 1 day's restOUT Bates-Diop missed 2 since 10/24, returns tonight: 6 min (39% of 15)
OUT Metu missed 2 since 10/24, returns tonight: 3 min (21% of 12)
OUT Bol missed 2 since 10/24, returns tonight: 4 min (38% of 11)
PHX availability going into 10/31 · 2 days' restOUT Booker missed 2 since 10/26, out tonight
BACK Bates-Diop back 10/28 after 2, 6 min since (39% of 15)
BACK Metu back 10/28 after 2, 3 min since (21% of 12)
BACK Bol back 10/28 after 2, 4 min since (38% of 11)
NEW Okogie 16 to 29 min over the last 3
NEW Goodwin 14 to 23 min over the last 3
PHX availability going into 11/02 · 1 day's restOUT Booker missed 3 since 10/26, returns tonight: 35 min (97% of 36)
BACK Bates-Diop back 10/28 after 2, 6 min since (39% of 15)
BACK Metu back 10/28 after 2, 3 min since (21% of 12)
BACK Bol back 10/28 after 2, 4 min since (38% of 11)
NEW Okogie 16 to 29 min over the last 4
NEW Goodwin 14 to 21 min over the last 4
PHX availability going into 11/04 · 1 day's restOUT Metu missed 2 since 10/31, returns tonight: 5 min (41% of 12)
OUT Bol missed 2 since 10/31, out tonight
BACK Booker back 11/02 after 3, 35 min since (97% of 36)
BACK Bates-Diop back 10/28 after 2, 12 min since (78% of 15)
NEW Okogie 16 to 26 min over the last 5
NEW Watanabe 13 to 20 min over the last 5
10/24 @ DEN 107-119 — LAL notes
LAL lost 107-119. LAL shot 46% (41 of 90) to DEN's 53%, 10 of 29 from three, and went to the line 20 times to DEN's 12 — 15 points from the stripe to their 9. James led with 21 (10 of 16, 1 of 4 from three); Prince added 18, Davis 17. Q2 was theirs, 34-29, the deficit cut from 14 to 9, but the other 3 periods went 90-73 against them. Davis's -17 in 34 minutes was the worst on the floor.
10/26 vs PHX 100-95 — LAL notes
LAL won 100-95. LAL shot 43% (36 of 84) to PHX's 42%, 5 of 29 from three, and went to the line 29 times to PHX's 23 — 23 points from the stripe to their 18. Davis led with 30 (10 of 17, 9 of 10 at the line); James added 21, Russell 14. The hinge was Q4, 28-11: LAL came in trailing by 12 and left it ahead by 5. LAL trailed 48-52 at the half and won the second half 52-43. Wood was the night's best plus/minus at +23.
11/04 @ ORL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Orlando comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 104, shooting 45 percent and 31 from three, 29 free throws a game; F. Wagner at 19 and Banchero at 16 a game. One day's rest. The Lakers come in 3-2 over their last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 115, shooting 47 percent and 30 from three, 27 free throws a game; Davis at 26 and James at 25 a game. Without Hachimura (2 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Orlando wins, and the game turns on the defense, Orlando allowing 104 a night to the Lakers' 115. Call it Orlando 112, the Lakers 108, the Lakers keeping it close.
10/24 @ GSW 108-104 — PHX notes
PHX won 108-104. PHX shot 44% (42 of 95) to GSW's 36%, 11 of 33 from three, and got to the line 17 times to GSW's 28. PHX turned it over 19 times to GSW's 11, and GSW turned those into 11 steals. The glass went 60-49 for them. Booker led with 32 (13 of 21, 3 of 8 from three); Durant added 18, Okogie 17. The hinge was Q2, 33-18: from level to 15 ahead.
10/26 @ LAL 95-100 — PHX notes
PHX lost 95-100. PHX shot 42% (34 of 81) to LAL's 43%, 9 of 31 from three, and got to the line 23 times to LAL's 29. Durant led with 39 (14 of 28, 1 of 5 from three, 10 of 13 at the line); Gordon added 15, Goodwin 14. Q1 was theirs, 30-18, but the other 3 periods went 82-65 against them. They led by as many as 12. Gordon's -27 in 30 minutes was the worst on the floor.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
PHXDE D. Eubanks
EG E. Gordon
GA G. Allen
JG J. Goodwin
JN J. Nurkić
JO J. Okogie
KD K. Durant
NL N. Little
NU Nurkic
YW Y. Watanabe
LALAD A. Davis
AR A. Reaves
CR C. Reddish
CW C. Wood
DR D. Russell
GV G. Vincent
JH J. Hayes
LJ L. James
RH R. Hachimura
TP T. Prince
PHX/LAL the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
LeBron James keys Lakers' 4th-quarter rally for 100-95 win over Kevin Durant's short-handed Suns
LOS ANGELES -- — When Kevin Durant scored in the final minutes, LeBron James answered. These two generational basketball greats put on a scintillating duel in their first head-to-head matchup in nearly five years.
Although Durant was better in the first three quarters, he eventually had to concede he couldn't do it alone.
James didn't have to.
Anthony Davis had 30 points and 13 rebounds, James scored 10 of his 21 points while playing the entire fourth quarter, and the Los Angeles Lakers blew past Phoenix in the final minutes for a 100-95 victory over the short-handed Suns on Thursday night.
James made the tiebreaking layup with 1:11 to play for the Lakers, who rallied from a 12-point deficit entering the fourth to get their first victory of the new season in the home opener of James' 21st NBA campaign.
The 35-year-old Durant finished with 39 points and 11 rebounds while moving into 12th place on the NBA's career scoring list.
But James, who reigns atop that list, stepped up with back-to-back layups in the final 90 seconds to seize the win in another memorable meeting.
“We've had so many battles, (and) we don't have many matchups left,” the 38-year-old James said. “Not sure how many we have left, so you don't ever want to take it for granted when you're out there with such a great player, one of the best to ever play this game. It's always a treat. It's fun.”
Durant nearly carried the Suns to an improbable victory with no help from injured Devin Booker and Bradley Beal , but James was ever-so-slightly more clutch while also adding nine assists and eight rebounds.
“There were a few moments where you just appreciate what the fans are watching,” said Phoenix coach Frank Vogel, who has coached both superstars. “Two of the game’s greats just going head to head. Some collisions out there. The level of competition for Game 2 of the NBA season was super-high. Felt like a playoff game out there. A boxing match. A slugfest. ... To see those two guys out there fighting for it was pretty special.”
Durant and James have been friends since Durant’s senior year of high school 17 years ago, but they improbably hadn’t faced each other on an NBA court since Christmas 2018. Injuries, load management and health and safety protocols prevented them from playing in the previous 13 meetings between James’ Lakers and Durant’s Warriors, Nets and Suns.
“Someone you just compare yourself to,” Durant said. “If you could accomplish and achieve some of the stuff that he’s done, you’re doing pretty solid for yourself. It’s just a baseline for yourself as a player to see how great you can be.”
While James was good, he wasn't totally responsible for how the Suns flailed down the stretch without Booker or Beal to take the focus off Durant. Phoenix led 84-72 entering the fourth, but missed 13 of its next 14 shots and committed 10 turnovers in the next 10 minutes.
Durant still tied it at 91 with 1:28 to play by scoring on two straight possessions. With his final bucket, he passed Hakeem Olajuwon for 12th place on the scoring list.
But James replied with two baskets sandwiching a missed 3-pointer by Durant. Austin Reaves and Davis hit free throws in the final seconds to ice it for LA.
James is entering his third NBA decade with the Lakers determined to limit his minutes for health optimization, yet Los Angeles struggled mightily whenever James was off the court in the first half. James and coach Darvin Ham decided to throw out the plan for one night because the Lakers had all of their timeouts to maximize the freshness of James, who said he felt great after playing only 23 minutes in the first three quarters.
“It was tough,” Durant said. “He was pretty much coaching the team on how to guard certain actions. That’s what he’s been doing his whole career. ... It’s always a battle playing against high-IQ players like that.”
Eric Gordon added 15 points in Suns coach Vogel's first trip back to face the Lakers, who fired him 18 months ago after three seasons and one NBA title.
Booker sat out with left foot soreness after tweaking his foot late in his 28-point performance against Golden State on Tuesday. Beal still hasn't made his Suns debut due to lower back tightness.