Phoenix Suns at Los Angeles Lakers
· National Basketball AssociationLeBron James scores 28, leads Lakers past Suns 101-73 to clinch home-court advantage in 1st round
Luke Kennard scored 19 points and Rui Hachimura added 13 for the Lakers, who will be either the third or fourth seed in the Western Conference despite finishing the regular season without injured stars Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
Los Angeles (52-29) is one game behind third-place Denver (53-28) with one game left, but LA holds the tiebreaker over the Nuggets.
The Lakers won their second straight and their 15th in 19 games with a vintage performance from the 41-year-old James, who showed no weariness on the second night of a back-to-back set in which he scored 54 points on 63.6% shooting (21 for 33).
James also recorded the 12,000th assist of his career in the first half, becoming only the fourth NBA player to reach the milestone.
The NBA scoring king racked up 14 points in the first quarter, and he added six points and seven assists in the second half while making sure the Lakers' lead stayed firm.
Dillon Brooks scored 12 points for the Suns, who are seventh in the West standings and locked into the top spot in the play-in tournament.
Devin Booker sat out for Phoenix to rest his injured right ankle for the postseason, and Jalen Green also sat with right knee soreness. Collin Gillespie and Grayson Allen played in the first half, but sat in the second half of the Suns' lowest-scoring performance of the season.
The Lakers' injury woes remain dire, but Marcus Smart had six points and seven assists against Phoenix in his return from a nine-game injury absence.
James scored or assisted on nine of the Lakers' first 10 field goals while they streaked to an early 16-point lead.
Lakers: Host Utah on Sunday.
Regular Season Series
PHX wins series 3-2
Recent Plays
| 4th 0.0 |  |
End of Game | 73 - 101 |
| 4th 0.0 | |
End of the 4th Quarter | 73 - 101 |
| 4th 19.8 |  |
Chris Manon makes free throw 2 of 2 | 73 - 101 |
| 4th 19.8 | |
Lakers offensive team rebound | 73 - 100 |
| 4th 19.8 | |
Chris Manon misses free throw 1 of 2 | 73 - 100 |
Statistics
 PHX |
 LAL |
|
|---|---|---|
| 26-77 | FG | 35-69 |
| 34 | Field Goal % | 51 |
| 7-40 | 3PT | 8-20 |
| 17 | Three Point % | 40 |
| 14-21 | FT | 23-30 |
| 67 | Free Throw % | 77 |
| 47 | Rebounds | 35 |
| 18 | Offensive Rebounds | 4 |
| 29 | Defensive Rebounds | 31 |
| 17 | Assists | 27 |
| 8 | Steals | 17 |
| 1 | Blocks | 3 |
| 23 | Turnovers | 11 |
| 0 | Team Turnovers | 0 |
| 23 | Total Turnovers | 11 |
| 2 | Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 2 | Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
| 24 | Points Conceded Off Turnovers | 8 |
| 3 | Fast Break Points | 19 |
| 32 | Points in Paint | 46 |
| 18 | Fouls | 18 |
| 1 | Largest Lead | 29 |
| 6 | Lead Changes | 6 |
| 2 | Percent Led | 96 |
Los Angeles Lakers Injuries
| NAME, POS | STATUS | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Ziaire Williams, F | Day-To-Day | Oct 30 |
| Adou Thiero, F | Out | Oct 29 |
Phoenix Suns Injuries
| NAME, POS | STATUS | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Mark Williams, C | Out | Sep 11 |
Game Information
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Attendance: 18,997 · Capacity:
2026-27 Pacific Standings
| TEAM | W | L | PCT | GB | STRK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 LA Lakers |
4 | 2 | .667 | - | L1 |
 Golden State |
3 | 3 | .500 | 1 | W3 |
 Phoenix |
1 | 3 | .250 | 2 | L2 |
 LA Clippers |
1 | 4 | .200 | 2.5 | L4 |
 Sacramento |
0 | 5 | .000 | 3.5 | L5 |
NBA News
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