Game review: The Suns lose to the Lakers in overtime 128:122

The Phoenix Suns lost 128-122 to the Los Angeles Lakers in an overtime battle in the final game of the Valley's 2024-2025 preseason.

An exciting fight. It had many elements of a preseason game, but the Suns played the extended minutes of their starters, Jusuf Nurkić got his first run of the year and there were plenty of three-point attempts. But in the final minutes of the fourth quarter and overtime, rookie Dalton Knecht stole the show.

The Big Three played solidly, Tyus Jones showed what he can do as a penetrator, and all five starts saw double-digit scores.

The regular season is just around the corner, but here's how the team's final preseason game went.

Game flow

First half

Of all the players, Anthony Davis started off hot with three players and drilled four in the first quarter. The Suns played with intent from the start and appeared to be working on their three-point shooting and offensive aggression. Jusuf Nurkić, who missed the Valley's first four preseason games, joined the party and scored a three-pointer of his own.

The Big Three in particular made an impression right from the start. With their penetration of the cup, extra passes and shots, they made a concerted effort to get their offensive games into a rhythm and combined to score 19 of the team's 30 points in the first quarter. Despite the strong Phoenix offense, the Suns were unable to defend the Lakers' shots in the first quarter. After one, Los Angeles was ahead 35-30.

Showing off his health and well-documented offseason agility work, Jusuf Nurkić swung down the lane for an and-one, which he followed up with another and-one on the next possession early in the second quarter. His physicality and speed are encouraging signs for Suns fans.

Another encouraging sign? Tyus Jones was strong on offense, finding the open man and weeding through the defense to get to the rim. Everyone knows the impact Jones can have on the rest of the team as a distributor, but the more successful he is as a driver, the more he can impact the Suns' entire offense.

At halftime, Phoenix led Los Angeles 67-62. The Suns and Lakers went back and forth making uncontested threes and easy layups. While the Suns showed good signs, it was obvious from both teams' play that it was a preseason game. Devin Booker led the Suns with 20 points on an efficient 7-11 from the field. Austin Reaves led the Lakers with 18 points.

Second half

Both teams started the second half with their starters, a slight surprise considering the game won't go down in the record books. After the Suns called a timeout midway through the third quarter after the Lakers tied the game at 76-76, Kevin Durant landed a thunderous dunk that energized Kevin Harlan and sparked a solid Phoenix offense.

Phoenix continued the high tempo they played at in the first half, catching the attention of the TNT commentators. As they look to run their offense efficiently, look for Valley to play fast all season long.

At the end of the third quarter, the Suns led the Lakers 90-82, extending their lead in the first half and ending the quarter with a 14-6 run.

Bradley Beal, Kevin Durant and Anthony Davis were all there to start the fourth quarter. The broadcast noted that the increased minutes for the Phoenix starters were due to the Suns' six-day break before the start of their regular season.

Anthony Davis kept the Lakers in the game with his work around the rim. He contributed to Ryan Dunn's first foul in his NBA career. Dunn shot just 1-4 from the field and 1-3 from three, a tepid three-point shooting game after an electric shock against the Denver Nuggets on Sunday.

The Lakers pulled their starters about midway through the fourth quarter while Phoenix's four stayed in. A few minutes later, the Suns' bench was emptied. With 4.8 seconds left, Dalton Knecht tied the game at 113 and sent the game into overtime.

In overtime, it was a back-and-forth contest with the teams alternating three-pointers, but Knecht continued to dominate and hit some ridiculous shots in the contest. The University of Tennessee product led the Lakers to a 128-122 victory, scoring 20 straight points. Both Knecht and Davis had 35 for the Lakers, while Devin Booker led the Suns with 22.

The preseason is now officially over.

Next up is what we've all been waiting for: THE REGULAR SEASON!!! The Valley begins its title journey next Wednesday against the Los Angeles Clippers in its first-ever game at the Intuit Dome.

We hope you'll join us in watching, microanalyzing, and enjoying the Suns playing basketball this year.