James struggles as Suns hand Lakers their first loss

LAKERS

The Suns’ Devin Booker, left, drives against the Lakers’ Rui Hachimura during the first half of Monday night’s game in Phoenix. Booker scored 33 points in the Suns’ narrow victory. photos by Rick Scuteri / the associated press

The Lakers’ LeBron James loses the ball while driving between Phoenix’s Kevin Durant, left, and Bradley Beal.

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By Khobi Price

kprice@scng.com

PHOENIX — Despite strong performances from Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura, the Lakers dropped their first game of the season to the Suns 109-105 on Monday 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 on (8-of-15 shooting), including 17 in the second half, to go with eight rebounds and three assists.

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

The Lakers got another stop down three (107-104) with eight seconds left, but the Suns intentionally fouled LeBron James, who struggled offensively for most of the game, to prevent James from taking a potential game-tying 3.

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

Hachimura had 20 points and 10 rebounds.

James finished with 11 points on 3-of-14 shooting, extending his streak of 10-plus scoring performances to 1,226 games but not doing so until late in the fourth quarter.

Kevin Durant had 30 points for the Suns.

In a reversal from their last matchup on Friday in Los Angeles, which the Lakers won 123-116 after coming back from a 22-point second-quarter deficit, the Lakers who took a significant lead early.

The Lakers jumped out to an 18-point lead, 26-8, midway through the first and had a 31-15 advantage later in the quarter 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 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.