LeBron wins first victory as Laker in Suns fight

LeBron wins first victory as Laker in Suns fight

Bob Baum (Associated Press) – October 25, 2018 at 12:48

PHOENIX – Los Angeles with a restricted crew gave LeBron James his first win as Laker with a 131-113 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night (Thursday, Manila time).

James flirted with what would have been his 74th triple-double in career, finishing with 19 points, 10 assists and 7 rebounds before moving to the fourth quarter.

Lance Stephenson had 23 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, JaVale McGee added 20 points and Kyle Kuzma 17 for the Lakers. They had seven two-digit players.

Suns' Devin Booker had 23 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, but left the game in the third quarter with a strained left hamstring. Deandre Ayton, overall first overall this year, had 22 points and 11 rebounds.

Los Angeles was without Rajon Rondo and Brandon Ingram for their roles in an altercation with the Houston Rockets on Saturday night. Wednesday night was the first of a three-game suspension for Rondo and a four-game suspension for Ingram.

But the Lakers did not miss them in this event, which opened the way with a second quarter at 44 points.

Neither team had more than six points in the first quarter and the Suns only dropped 46-41 after Isaiah Canaan's double with 7:09 left in the half.

But Phoenix made four turnovers in a 17-2 defeat to Los Angeles, which allowed the Lakers to climb 63-43 on Josh Hart's dunk, with 3:51 left in the first period.

The Lakers led 76-54 at the break and Phoenix was never under 16 in the third quarter.

Tip-ins

Lakers: James has five treble doubles less than Wilt Chamberlain. James has three double doubles in career against Phoenix. Los Angeles beat Phoenix 44-24 in the second quarter. Stephenson scored 12 points in the first period on six of the seven shots. … The Lakers have won four straight games in Phoenix after losing 11 straight games. … Like Ayton, Mychal Thompson, a former Lakers broadcaster and broadcaster, was born in the Bahamas and was the first choice of the NBA (by Portland).

Suns: Booker lost two points before becoming the first Suns player to score 25 points or more in the first four games of the season since Charlie Scott in 1972-73. … Phoenix has lost its last three games by 28, 20 and 18 points. … Ayton was found to defend James head-to-head twice in the second half. James missed a 3 the first time and drove for a layup that ended on the second.