LeBron James made two free throws with 3.9 seconds left, Luka Doncic scored 29 points, and Los Angeles Lakers bounced back from a 20-point fourth-quarter lead to lead 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' 3-pointer over James, who made contact with Brooks after a shot. Brooks hit James on his way back, earning him a second technical foul and an ejection.
More importantly, it gave the Lakers a free throw, but James missed. On the ensuing possession, James was fouled on Devin Booker's 3-point attempt with 3.9 seconds left. James, 40, who scored 26 points, missed his first free throw but hit his final two to give the Lakers a 115-114 lead. Phoenix's Grayson Allen made an awkward hit at the buzzer, but James blocked it.
Brooks and James had an argument since the 2023 playoffs, when Brooks called James “old” and said, “I poke bears.” Earlier Sunday, each player earned a technical foul after physical play between the pair. Asked about the incidents after the game, James seemed to enjoy his time 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 in front of each other. Try not to cross the line with that. I don't understand that. But we just compete and did that pretty much until the end of the game.”
Booker said he also enjoyed watching James and Brooks compete. “Yeah, I mean there’s history here,” Booker said. “I love seeing it. People always say the city is too friendly. NBA and then Dillon comes and now it's too much. So, as I said, I would prefer it the other way around – that would be too much.”
Lakers center Deandre Ayton had 20 points and 13 rebounds against his former team. Ayton spent his first five NBA seasons in Phoenix after being drafted No. 1 overall in 2018.
Los Angeles grabbed a season-high 24 offensive rebounds to help offset their poor shooting. Doncic shot 7 of 25 from the field, including 2 of 14 from 3-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.
