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The celebrities came out on Thursday to catch the marquee Lakers-Suns match at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. It featured, among others, the long-awaited first showdown between NBA superstars LeBron James and Kevin Durant after five years.
High-profile celebrities in attendance included Lil Wayne, Kevin Hart and Shannon Sharpe, as well as former NBA stars Deron Williams and Sasha Vujacic. They were treated to an exciting match, which saw the Lakers win 100-95.
The much-awaited battle between James and Durant did not disappoint, with the two displaying their A-1 game throughout the Lakers-Suns clash.
Thirty-eight-year-old James was all-around as usual, with 21 points, nine assists, eight rebounds, two steals and two blocks in 35 minutes of play. Durant, 35, meanwhile, picked up the cudgels in the absence of Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, finishing with 39 points and 11 rebounds.
It was the first showdown between the two superstars since Christmas Day in 2018 when James was in his first year in Los Angeles and Durant was still with the Golden State Warriors.
After the outcome of Thursday’s game, the Lakers and Suns are both sporting 1-1 records.
Devin Booker missed in first Lakers-Suns showdown this season
As the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns battled for the first time this season on Thursday, conspicuously absent was three-time All-Star Devin Booker because of a foot injury.
The explosive Suns shooting guard played in their season-opener against the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday and came out firing. He finished with 32 points on 13-of-21 shooting and 3-of-8 from beyond the arc, six rebounds and eight assists in 37 minutes as he helped Phoenix to a 108-104 victory.
His numbers were sorely missed as the Suns jostled against the Lakers in their second game of the season. Kevin Durant tried his best to do the heavy lifting, ending up with 39 points and 11 rebounds, but it proved to be not enough as they fell 100-95.
In Booker’s absence in the Lakers-Suns clash, veteran Eric Gordon started and contributed 15 points. Also tried to fill up the void was guard Jordan Goodwin, who had 14 off the bench.
It remains to be seen if Booker is a go for their next game against the Utah Jazz at home on Saturday.
New acquisition Bradley Beal, meanwhile, has yet to see action for Phoenix because of back problems.
