Phoenix Suns defeat LeBron and Los Angeles Lakers in preseason opener

The Phoenix Suns left Acrisure Arena with an opening win over the Los Angeles Lakers and began their preparation for the season.

Both teams saw their stars play the entire first half – and as expected, Lakers forward LeBron James led the way with 19 points, five rebounds and four assists.

Los Angeles co-star Anthony Davis wasn't far behind with a stat line of 16-8-3.

As for Phoenix, Devin Booker finished with 12 points despite going just 4-12 from the field. Bradley Beal scored 11 points and Kevin Durant six points – each star played 14 minutes.

Bronny James played 13 minutes and missed his only shot attempt.

Phoenix got off to a slow start, tying the game at 18-18 before the Lakers took the lead and never looked back.

Thanks to strong field shooting (55.8%), Los Angeles had a 69-57 lead by halftime and dominated the field in points (44-13) and rebounds (29 to Phoenix's 22).

Tyus Jones was the only Phoenix starter to extend playing time into the second half. For the Lakers, Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura shared this honor.

The Suns fought back late in the third period, cutting LA's lead to 92-85 with just a quarter left.

Midway through the fourth period, the Suns took the lead for the first time since the early stages of the game on a Josh Okogie dunk, giving Phoenix a 97-96 lead.

The two teams battled back and forth the rest of the way before the Suns escaped with a 118-114 victory as the buzzer sounded.

The Suns travel to Michigan to take on the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday. Phoenix hosts the Lakers for their preseason finale on Thursday, October 17th.