LOS ANGELES—What a difference a day makes for Los Angeles Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball who rebounded from a dreadful NBA debut to flirt with a triple double on Friday.
Ball had 29 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists in his second NBA game to power the Lakers to a 132-130 win over the Phoenix Suns.
“We weren’t proud of yesterday so we came out tonight and gave them a fight,” said Ball, who scored six consecutive points late in the fourth quarter.
The highly-touted Ball shot one-of-six from the floor and finished with just three points in a 108-92 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday night.
Ball missed his first three field-goal attempts and both free throws before making his only basket, a three-pointer, late in the first half.
Clippers Patrick Beverley maligned Ball after the game, saying he wanted to “welcome his little young ass to the NBA.”
That was not the case for the league’s second overall draft pick in June against the host Suns, as Ball turned up the heat on the Friday, shooting 12 of 27 from the field.
The Lakers led by 12 points in the fourth quarter before the Suns pulled within 122-119 on a Tyson Chandler tip-in with 3:22 left.
But Ball scored the next three Laker baskets, all on hard drives. The third basket put the Lakers ahead 130-122 with 1:35 left and Los Angeles then held on for the win.
Meanwhile, LeBron James has picked up right where he left off last season, scoring 24 points and dishing out eight assists on Friday as the Cleveland Cavaliers cruised past the Milwaukee Bucks 116-97.
The four-time NBA most valuable player led the Cavaliers in scoring for the second straight game despite missing most of the pre-season with an injury.
When James started the season he knew it was going to take time to fully recover from a sprained left ankle that limited him to just one pre-season game.
He played 37 minutes and drained 10 of 16 shots on Friday in front of a crowd of 18,700 at Milwaukee’s Bradley Center arena.
“I felt better tonight than I did after game one,” said James who scored a team high 29 points in a season-opening win over Boston on Tuesday.
“Each game is going to be another opportunity for me to get into game shape,” he added. “Today I am still not where I want to be.”