Los Angeles Lakers @ Phoenix Suns
Sunday, December 14, 2025 at 8:00 PM ET
Mortgage Matchup Center, Phoenix, AZ | Game ID: 22501228
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
PHX 36 26 15 37 114LAL 31 31 24 30 116
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
LeBron James hits 2 late free throws, Lakers beat Suns 116-114 after blowing 20-point lead
PHOENIX -- — LeBron James made two free throws with 3.9 seconds left, Luka Doncic scored 29 points and the Los Angeles Lakers recovered from blowing a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter to top the Phoenix Suns 116-114 on Sunday night.
Phoenix trailed 99-79 with 7:48 left, but took a 114-113 lead with 12.2 seconds left on Dillon Brooks ' 3-pointer over James, who made contact with Brooks after the shot. Brooks bumped James on the way back down the court, earning his second technical foul and an ejection.
More importantly, it gave the Lakers a free throw, but James missed it.
On the ensuing possession, James was fouled on a 3-point attempt by Devin Booker with 3.9 seconds left. The 40-year-old James — who finished with 26 points — missed the first free throw but made the final two to give the Lakers a 115-114 lead.
Phoenix's Grayson Allen got up an awkward shot at the buzzer, but it was off the mark.
Jaxson Hayes threw down a powerful dunk over Phoenix's Oso Ighodaro to give the Lakers a 79-77 lead with 2:24 left in the third quarter. It was part of a 24-0 run over an eight-minute span in the third and fourth quarters that ended with a 95-77 advantage.
Lakers center Deandre Ayton had 20 points and 13 rebounds against his former team. Ayton played his first five NBA seasons in Phoenix after being selected with the No. 1 overall pick in 2018.
Los Angeles had a season-high 24 offensive rebounds, which helped offset a tough shooting night. Doncic was 7 of 25 from the field, including 2 of 14 from 3-point range.
Booker led the Suns with 27 points, returning to the lineup after missing three games with a groin injury. The four-time All-Star made 13 of 16 free throws.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
PHXCG C. Gillespie
DB D. Booker
DB D. Brooks
GA G. Allen
JB J. Bouyea
JG J. Goodwin
MW M. Williams
NR N. Richards
OI O. Ighodaro
RD R. Dunn
RO R. O'Neale
LALDA D. Ayton
DO Doncic
GV G. Vincent
JH J. Hayes
JL J. LaRavia
JV J. Vanderbilt
LD L. Dončić
LJ L. James
MS M. Smart
RH R. Hachimura
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
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