Led by LeBron James and Rui Hachimura, the Lakers put up a valiant fight in Phoenix in their penultimate preseason game, winning 128-122 in overtime.

A late rally in the fourth quarter saw Dalton Knecht finally tie the game with a 3-pointer with 4.8 seconds left, while he scored the final seven points of regulation for the purple and gold and 12 in the fourth.

He then continued his red-hot shooting in overtime, scoring the first 13 points for the visitors. For those who are bad at math, that’s 20 Lakers points in a row. Knecht finished with 35 points, 30 of those coming in the second half.

Anthony Davis dominated early, finishing with 35 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. Austin Reaves had a great game, scoring 18 points with eight rebounds.

D’Angelo Russell had 10 assists and nine points, but struggled with his shooting, going just 2-9 from the field and 0-5 from beyond the arc. Gabe Vincent pitched in seven runs and went 3-7 from the field.

AD came out of the gate red hot, scoring eight straight points, including two three-pointers. The Lakers had an excellent offense to start, with everyone but Max Christie getting a shot. After LA led by as many as seven, the Suns cut the deficit to one, led by Devin Booker. AD knocked down two more 3-pointers as the Suns left him wide open from behind the arc.

Phoenix took the lead by one after an 8-0 scoring run. Both teams struggled with consistent defense, but the offense was still hot. Los Angeles jumped ahead by two after a three from Gabe. At the end of the first, LA led by five.

The offense continued to fizzle as both teams started the second. Cam Reddish was active in the first half, both switching and creating shots. LA had quite a bit of trouble defending the Suns, allowing Phoenix to close the deficit.

Gabe scored four straight, giving LA a five-point lead. Phoenix immediately answered back to make it a tie. The Suns took a lead by two with two minutes left. LA struggled to close out the quarter well and trailed by five.

Phoenix started the third period with a mid-range shot, while the Lakers started cold offensively. The Suns were in the lead, but both teams played sloppily. LA’s offense started to ramp up and they tied the game.

The Suns were able to hold off the Lakers and go up by five, but an assist from Gabe to AD for a layup cut the deficit to two. Phoenix then went on a run to give themselves an eight lead. LA struggled to convert many easy shots.

The Lakers trailed 90-82 at the end of the third.

In the final frame, the starters for both teams had longer playing time and the Lakers still trailed. The quarter quickly turned into an offensive confrontation with a few hints of defense. The Suns held an eight lead as LA tried to make the game closer.

AD converted on a three-point play and the Lakers found themselves within five points. He continued to dominate with another layup before being retired for the night.

Coming late into the game, the young Lakers tried to pull off the same comeback they did earlier in the preseason against the Milwaukee Bucks. After cutting the deficit all the way to just three points, Knecht tied the game with his clutch 3-pointer.

The Suns attempted a three but didn’t connect and the game went into overtime. Knecht’s confidence soared as he knocked down another three.

He then drilled another to put the Lakers up four. Phoenix made a three to make it a one-point game. Knecht scored another three-pointer. His stellar performance continued and the Lakers sealed the win in overtime.

Key Takeaways:

The Lakers have a lot of work to do with their defensive schemes. They have struggled all preseason playing consistent defense.

The offense seems to be going quite well. Coach Reddick has the team playing more fluidly than we are used to.

LA has been fighting for rebounds and looks extremely involved. This will be important all season long.

The Lakers’ next preseason game is Friday against the Golden State Warriors at 7:30 PM PT.

You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.