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PHOENIX – In his fourth game, LeBron James finally got his first victory as Laker.
James flirted with what would have been his 74th triple-double career, finishing with 19 points, 10 assists and 7 rebounds, before playing in the fourth quarter of a 131-113 victory over the Suns on Wednesday night.
"It feels good," he said. "It's a win, period, but it's good to know what we did during training camp and these first games to keep improving."
Lance Stephenson had 23 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, JaVale McGee added 20 points and Kyle Kuzma had 17 points 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.
Phoenix, however, made four turnovers in a 17-2 Los Angeles defeat, allowing the Lakers to climb 63-43 on Josh Hart's dunk with 3:51 left in the first period.
"That's what we keep talking about. That's what we're going to continue throughout the season, it's our defensive approach, "said James. "How do we approach the game, our physics, our communication and that's what we did in the second quarter."
Los Angeles dominated the Suns 44-24 in the second quarter.
"Our defense has resumed," said Lakers coach Luke Walton. "At the beginning of the match, our defense was sweet. They missed shots, but that's the same thing that happened against San Antonio, but they did get shots. We must improve. We have to start matches with the same mentality as the second quarter. "
Phoenix made eight turnovers in the second quarter, 15 Lakers points.
"In the first quarter, we had a defensive presence," said Suns coach Igor Kokoskov. "We had two good defensive possessions and showed some sort of defensive resistance and we had a close game. But in the rest of the game, starting with the turnarounds, we thought too much. "
The Lakers led 76-54 at the break and Phoenix was never under 16 in the third quarter.
"The Lakers are a good team," said Kokoskov. "We were talking this morning not to buy in their disc at the moment. They are much better than the record says. But I am not satisfied with any part of the game, including the defense. "
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