Lakers fall to Suns for 1st loss of season

PHOENIX — Despite strong performances from Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura, the Lakers dropped their first game of the season to the Suns, falling 109-105 on Monday night at Footprint Center.

Davis’ 30-point streak to start the season ended at three games.

He finished with 29 points (12-of-24 shooting), 15 rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots.

Reaves scored 23 points (8-for-15 shooting), including 17 in the second half, to go with eight rebounds and three assists.

But with the Lakers trailing 107-104 with 37 seconds left after Davis blocked a Devin Booker jumper that would have put the Suns ahead by five, Reaves missed a potential game-tying open 3-pointer out of a timeout with Booker (game-high 33 points) grabbing the rebound.

The Lakers got another stop while still down 107-104 with eight seconds left, but the Suns intentionally fouled LeBron James, who struggled offensively for most of the game, to prevent him from attempting a potential game-tying 3-point shot.

James made the first free throw and intentionally missed the second, but the Lakers didn’t grab the offensive rebound and Bradley Beal (15 points) sealed the game with a pair of free throws.

Hachimura finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds.

James was held to 11 points on 3-of-14 shooting, extending his record streak of double-digit scoring performances to 1,226 games but not doing so until late in the fourth.

Kevin Durant had 30 points for the Suns.

In a reversal from their game Friday night in Los Angeles, which the Lakers won 123-116 after erasing a 22-point, second-quarter deficit, the Lakers took a significant lead early.

The Lakers opened an 18-point advantage (26-8) midway through the first quarter and had a 31-15 advantage later in the period behind strong offensive play from Davis, hustle and taking advantage of the Suns’ slow offensive start.

Davis had 16 first-quarter points in nine minutes, with the Lakers also scoring seven second-chance points and getting easy baskets in transition.

But the Suns turned up their defensive intensity.

And the Lakers’ start-of-second and start-of-fourth quarter lineups, which have been an early bright spot, struggled in their minutes without Davis on the floor.

The Suns outscored the Lakers 17-4 in the seven minutes Davis sat between the first and second quarters, helping Phoenix take a 50-48 lead into halftime.

Reaves, Hachimura and D’Angelo Russell (14 points, eight assists) each scored eight third-quarter points, helping the Lakers win the quarter 35-26 and take an 83-76 lead into the fourth.

The Lakers’ start-of-fourth lineup struggled, allowing the Suns to open the quarter on a 14-3 run to take a 90-86 lead.

More to come on this story.