LeBron James wins clutch battle against Kevin Durant with 39 points and Lakers beat Suns | Sports New Spain

For the first time in more than five years Lebron James and Kevin Durant They faced each other in an NBA arena. Two of the best players of this century and the leading goalscorers in the history of the league were incredibly without playing face-to-face since December 2018, but now they meet again in this Los Angeles Lakers vs. Phoenix Suns which had other significant losses, those of Devin Booker and Bradley Beal in Arizona.

Without Booker and Beal on the Suns, the Lakers took over as the favorites for this game. AND They complied with a 100-95 victory.

The result is no surprise, neither are the stat lines of Durant, who scored 39 points and passed Hakeem Olajuwon for the all-time NBA scoring record, nor James. But it should be surprising what can LeBron do two months after turning 39an age where practically nobody plays in the best league in the world.

The Lakers won the final quarter 28-11, to pull off a game that looked like they were going to walk away with another loss like the one they suffered at the hands of the Denver Nuggets. And James was absolutely instrumental in that.

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In a game in which neither team’s offense ran in the final quarter, LeBron was on the court for 12 minutes and finished with 10 points and two assists, converting eight of the Lakers’ 11 points in the final four minutesin which the game came with the score at 87.

Durant had a flawless game (the Suns outscored the Lakers by 18 points in their 39 minutes on the floor and lost their nine-minute break by 23 points, suggesting the outcome would have been different with Beal or Booker to compensate the rotation), but LeBron was much more decisive in the clutchwinning that individual duel at the most important moment 8-6.

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By attacking the rim, LeBron scored the decisive baskets for the Lakers, as well layup 95-91 with 41 seconds left. A play that LeBron has been making in the NBA for 20 years, but it’s still very difficult for anyone who defends LBJ.

As if this was not enough, LeBron didn’t need just one assist and two rebounds to achieve a triple-double In his 35 minutes on the court he shot 7-14 from the field. Court time equal to his average from last season, when it was discussed that the Lakers would take better care of him in the Regular Phase this season. Tonight They needed it in the fourth quarter and LeBron was there.