Suns Power Past LeBron, Lakers in Preseason Opener

The Phoenix Suns began their preseason festivities against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Oct 6, 2024; Palm Desert, California, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal (3) moves the ball against Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) during the first half at Acrisure Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images / David Frerker-Imagn Images

The Phoenix Suns walked out of Acrisure Arena with an opening win over the Los Angeles Lakers to begin preseason play.

Both teams saw their stars play the entire first half - and as expected - it was Lakers forward LeBron James leading the way with 19 points, five rebounds and four assists.

Los Angeles co-star Anthony Davis wasn't far behind with a 16-8-3 stat line himself.

As for Phoenix, Devin Booker finished with 12 points despite going just 4-12 from the field. Bradley Beal scored 11 and Kevin Durant notched six points - each star played 14 minutes.

Bronny James registered 13 minutes of play and missed his only shot attempt.

Phoenix got off to a slow start, tying the game at 18-18 before the Lakers took the lead and never looked back.

Los Angeles carried a 69-57 advantage into halftime thanks to strong shooting from the field (55.8%) while dominating the paint in terms of points (44-13) and rebounding (29 to Phoenix's 22).

Tyus Jones was Phoenix's lone starter to push playing time into the second half. For the Lakers, Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura carried those honors.

The Suns battled back towards the end of the third, cutting L.A.'s lead to 92-85 with just one quarter left.

Halfway through the fourth, the Suns took their first lead since the early stages of the game on a Josh Okogie dunk to place Phoenix up 97-96.

The two sides battled back and forth through the remainder of time before the Suns walked away with a 118-114 victory as the buzzer sounded.

The Suns travel to Michigan on Tuesday to face the Detroit Pistons. Phoenix will host the Lakers on Thursday, Oct. 17 for their preseason finale.