The Los Angeles Lakers are in action for the first time on the road this season when they go head to head with the Phoenix Suns at the Footprint Center on Tuesday.
This will be the second meeting between the two sides within the space of three days after Antony Davis dropped 35 points to lead the Lakers to a 123-116 victory in their clash at the Crypto.com Arena lat Saturday.
Match preview
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The Phoenix Suns marked their first home outing of the new NBA regular season with a win as they brushed aside the Dallas Mavericks 114-102 in a dominant display on Sunday.
Playing his second game of the new term, Luka Doncic knocked down 40 points for Dallas, but Kevin Durant's 31 and Devin Booker's 21 saw the Suns cruise to a relatively comfortable victory.
It has been a solid start to the campaign for the Phoenix Suns, who tipped off the season with a 116-113 overtime win over the Los Angeles Clipper at the Intuit Done on October 24, two days before falling 123-116 against the Lakers.
This has been in keeping with a fine performance in pre-season, where Mike Budenholzer's side finished with a 3-2 record from their five warm-up outings, seeing off the Lakers, Detroit Pistons and Denver Nuggets while averaging 110.8 points per game.
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The Los Angeles Lakers, on the other hand, went on a 21-0 scoring run in the fourth quarter to overturn a 14-point deficit and roll past the Sacramento Kings 131-127 at the Crypto.com Arena on Sunday.
All five Lakers starters finished with 15+ points, with highly-rated rookie Dalton Knecht dropping 10 points in 20 minutes off the bench, but it was the duo of LeBron James and Davis that grabbed the headlines once again as they netted a combined 30 in the fourth quarter to lead the comeback.
LeBron knocked down 32 points to go with 14 rebounds and 10 assists as he completed his first triple-double of the season while Davis notched 31 points to make it three straight games with 30+ points.
With the result over the Kings, JJ Redick's men are now one of just two sides with a perfect 3-0 record in the West, having brushed aside the Minnesota Timberwolves 110-103 on opening night before claiming a seven-point victory over the Suns last Saturday.
Marking his first season as head coach, Redick will look to make his mark on a Lakers side aiming to bounce back from a disappointing 2023-24 campaign, where they reached the playoffs via the play-in tournament before losing 4-1 against the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference first round.
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Team News
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With 31 points against the Kings, Davis became the first Los Angeles Lakers player to drop 30+ points in the opening three games of the season since Kobe Bryant in the 2005-06 campaign.
Josh Okogie has been sidelined since picking up a hamstring injury in the pre-season clash against the Pistons on October 12 and the 26-year-old will play no part in Saturday's game.
Having featured in the opening two games, Bradley Beal missed the game against the Mavericks at the weekend through an elbow injury and the 31-year-old remains questionable for Tuesday's matchup.
Davis has been a standout performer for the Lakers, averaging a league-high 34.0 points per game, while LeBron ranks 30th in the scoring chart with an average of 23.0 points after the first three matches.
On the injury front, Redick has ruled out Jarred Vanderbilt for at least two weeks following a foot problem while Christian Koloko is out of contention for Tuesday's game due to illness.
Experienced forward Christian Wood continues his long road to full fitness after undergoing knee surgery and the 29-year-old will also miss the trip to the Footprint Center.
Phoenix Suns possible starting 5:
Booker, Jones, Nurkic, Dunn, Durant
Los Angeles Lakers possible starting 5:
Russell, Reaves, Davis, Hachimura, LeBron
We say: Los Angeles Lakers to win by 5+ points
While the Phoenix Suns got the job done against the Dallas Mavericks in their first home-court outing, they should expect a sterner challenge from a Los Angeles Lakers side who are flying under new coach Redick.
Davis and LeBron have formed a lethal partnership this season, and while we expect the Suns to put up a fight at the Footprint Center, we are backing the Lakers to come out on top and make it four wins from four.
Joshua Ojele
