LeBron James made two free throws with 3.9 seconds left, Luka Dončić scored 29 points and the Los Angeles Lakers recovered from blowing a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter to top the Phoenix Suns 116-114 on Sunday night.
Phoenix trailed 99-79 with 7:48 left, but took a 114-113 lead with 12.2 seconds left on Dillon Brooks’s three-pointer over James, who made contact with Brooks after the shot. Brooks bumped James on the way back down the court, earning his second technical foul and an ejection.
More importantly, it gave the Lakers a free throw, but James missed the shot. On the ensuing possession, James was fouled on a three-point attempt by Devin Booker with 3.9 seconds left. The 40-year-old James – who finished with 26 points – missed the first free throw but made the final two to give the Lakers a 115-114 lead. Phoenix’s Grayson Allen got up an awkward shot at the buzzer, but it was blocked by James.
Brooks and James have clashed ever since the 2023 playoffs, when Brooks called James “old” and said “I poke bears”. Each man had earned a technical foul earlier on Sunday after physical play between the pair. Asked about the incidents after the game, James appeared to relish his meetings with Brooks, who is 11 years his junior.
“I just like to compete,” James said. “He’s going to compete. I’m going to compete. We’re going to get up in each other’s face. Try not to go borderline with it. I don’t really take it there. But we’re just competing and did that almost all the way to the end of the game.”
Booker said he also enjoyed seeing James and Brooks compete. “Yeah, I mean there’s history there,” Booker said. “I love to see it. People always say everything’s too friendly in the NBA and then Dillon comes around and now it’s too much. So like I said, I’d rather it the other way – that it would be too much.”
Lakers center Deandre Ayton had 20 points and 13 rebounds against his former team. Ayton played his first five NBA seasons in Phoenix after being selected with the No 1 overall pick in 2018.
Los Angeles had a season-high 24 offensive rebounds, which helped offset a tough shooting night. Dončić was 7 of 25 from the field, including 2 of 14 from three-point range.
Booker led the Suns with 27 points, returning to the lineup after missing three games with a groin injury. The four-time All-Star made 13 of 16 free throws.