Lakers lose for 1st time this season, can't close late in Phoenix

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — The Los Angeles Lakers won’t go 82-0 this season. It wasn’t from lack of trying.

Their first loss in the JJ Redick era came in Phoenix after a hard-fought game Monday that ended with the Suns’ top two players out-dueling the Lakers’ top duo down the stretch.

Kevin Durant and Devin Booker were just strong enough to push the Suns past the Lakers, 109-105.

The Lakers (3-1) had their chances in a game that came down to an unfriendly bounce off an intentionally missed free throw with 6.1 seconds left. LA trailed by two when LeBron James threw the ball hard at the rim from the free-throw line. The ball caromed quickly off the front of the rim and, after a brief scramble, into the hands of Suns forward Royce O’Neale.

Game over.

Durant scored 30 points and helped the Suns overcome an early 18-point deficit. He was best in the end, scoring eight points in the final 4:04.

“He’s one of the best bucket-getters the league has even seen,” Lakers guard Austin Reaves said.

The Lakers pointed primarily at a sluggish second quarter that allowed the Suns to come back from that first-quarter deficit. LA’s offense, in particular, was off in that quarter.

“We scored 14 points. We just couldn’t score the basketball in the second quarter, which kind of hurt us,” center Anthony Davis said. “We can’t have a 14-point quarter.”

Redick, the rookie coach, took the blame for it.

“We should never have a 14-point quarter,” Redick said. “I’ve got to make sure we’re running some good offense.”

Davis continued to supply plenty of points for the Lakers, scoring 29. But James was off most of the night, making only three of 14 shots.

Along those lines, a lengthy scoring streak almost came to an end. James had only seven points late in the fourth quarter and almost failed to score at least 10 points for the first time since January 2007. His son and current Lakers teammate, Bronny, was 2 years old at the time.

James, however, drilled a three-pointer with 1:58 left to play and later added a free throw to finish with 11 points.

Reaves (23 points) and Rui Hachimura (20 points) continued to give LA plenty of scoring support beyond Davis and, on a typical night, James.

In the end, the Lakers just couldn’t stop Durant or Booker (33 points).

“Nobody in [NBA] history went 82-0. We don’t expect to lose, but we’re realists,” Davis said. “I like the ways the guys competed, and we played extremely hard.”