Anthony Davis scores 35 points, the Lakers rally in second half to beat the Suns 123-116

JOE REEDY, Associated Press

Updated: Oct 26, 2024 / 12:46 AM CDT

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, left, and his son, guard Bronny James warm up prior to an NBA basketball game against the Phoenix Suns in Los Angeles, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Anthony Davis scored 35 points, Austin Reaves added 26 and the Los Angeles Lakers rallied to beat the Phoenix Suns 123-116 on Friday night for their first 2-0 start since 2010-11.

LeBron James had 17 of his 21 points in the second half for the Lakers, who trailed by 22 points in the second quarter.

Kevin Durant led Phoenix (1-1) with 30 points. Devin Booker had 23.

The Lakers were down 61-52 at halftime, then outscored Phoenix 35-24 in the third quarter to take the lead as Davis and James each scored 11 in the period.

Los Angeles led by 12 points in the fourth quarter.

Takeaways

Suns: Made 21 of their first 30 shots, including nine straight 3-pointers, before going 21 of 52 the rest of the game. Phoenix was 24 of 39 from the field in the first half, but 9 of 27 in the third quarter. The Suns led 38-23 after the first quarter.

Lakers: JJ Reddick is the first Los Angeles coach to win his first two games since Phil Jackson in 1999.

Key moment

The Lakers trailed 81-74 with three minutes left in the third quarter before scoring nine straight points to grab the lead. That was part of a 20-6 run during a nearly five-minute span from late in the third to early in the fourth.