PHOENIX —
LeBron James, close to the tip of a brutally robust capturing evening, deliberately missed a free throw to try to create an offensive rebound and salvage his unhealthy evening.
However the Suns corralled the free ball, the final large second in a 109-105 win that gave the Lakers their first lack of the season.
Confronted with a selection throughout a timeout inside the ultimate minute together with his staff down three, Lakers coach JJ Redick decided.
He was going to go for it.
Regardless of time on the clock for the Lakers to have a number of possessions, Redick designed a play to get Austin Reaves an open three. And whereas the play itself created the look the Lakers needed, the shot didn’t fall.
The staff obtained one other cease and one other probability, however Phoenix fouled reasonably than give the Lakers an opportunity to hit a tying three. James made the primary free throw, however reasonably than make the second and foul the Suns, he tried to drive the offensive rebound.
He completed with simply 11 factors, making solely three of his 14 pictures.
Anthony Davis had 29 and Reaves scored 23 within the loss to the Suns. Devin Booker had 33 for Phoenix, and Kevin Durant had 30.
Validation can are available in different methods, prefer it did Monday morning for the Lakers and Davis when he was named participant of the week within the Western Convention for his first-week dominance.
Whereas the award itself is about as momentary of official reward the NBA presents, it, like a lot of what’s occurred within the early going, it solely provides credibility to Redick’s imaginative and prescient about what the Lakers must be doing on a nightly foundation.
Calling Davis the “hub” of the staff’s offense shortly after he obtained the job, the Lakers have totally dedicated to their large man being their first offensive choice. And he’s rewarded them.
“We talk as a team a lot about choices and so, for me, that was a choice that was made on Day 1 and then you just kind of, that choice has been made,” Redick stated pregame Monday. “There’s nothing else that you need to do. Now you go to the next priority. Obviously I think even in preseason and through the first three regular season games, I think that choice has been evident and our guys down the line have embraced that choice.”
The Lakers dug into that selection once more early on Monday evening, Davis by some means wanting much more dominant than he did in a string of three-straight video games with greater than 30 factors.
Within the first 9 minutes Monday, Davis scored 16 factors in opposition to the Suns whereas delivering the defensive highlights which have helped outline his profession, reminiscent of blocking Durant when the 2 met on the rim.
However when Davis exited the sport, the Suns rapidly erased a lead that was as giant as 18.
