PHOENIX — Trailing by as many as 18, the Phoenix Suns emerged victorious against the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday evening, 109-105.

Phoenix, now 3-1, handed the Lakers (3-1) their first loss of the season after blowing a 22-point lead to Los Angeles a few days ago on Friday.

It was a rare off-night for LeBron James, who scored just 11 points on 3-14 shooting from the field.

The Lakers took a 23-8 lead thanks to a quick 11 points from Anthony Davis. In a quarter that could have turned very ugly very quickly, the Suns finished on a strong note and trailed by just nine, 34-25. Kevin Durant finished the quarter with 12 points as Los Angeles – as a team – shot 52% from the field.

A quick 9-2 early in the second quarter forced Lakers coach JJ Redick to call a timeout and regroup his troops.

Phoenix kept their deficit at around seven for most of the quarter, although Devin Booker (who had 14 points in the second quarter) drained a corner three with 40 seconds left in the half to give Phoenix their first lead since the opening stages of the match. game.

The Suns led into the locker room with a 50-48 lead, despite mediocre three-point shooting (26%).

It was a rather quiet third quarter for Phoenix, who saw their lead slowly disappear over the course of twelve minutes, with the Lakers eventually leading 83-76 going into the final quarter. Los Angeles made seven of 10 three-point attempts in the third.

There was a bucket exchange in the fourth quarter, which continued into the final stages of the game as the game entered the waning seconds of regulation.

With the Suns three late, the Lakers were forced to the foul line with six seconds left. After James made the first free throw, his second attempt (an intentional miss) eventually found its way to the other side of the court, where Bradley Beal was fouled and ultimately sank two shots from the line to ice the game.

Kevin Durant – 30 points, eight rebounds, four assists, four blocks
Devin Boeker – 33 points, three rebounds, two assists, one steal
Bradley Beal – 15 points, three rebounds, four assists, two steals, one block

Anthony Davis – 29 points, 15 rebounds, three assists, three blocks
LeBron James –11 points, five rebounds, eight assists
Austin Reaves – 23 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two steals

The Suns are on the road against the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday.