Coming into Friday night’s contest, the Los Angeles Lakers already had one win in the books this season and they were hungry for another. But after going down 15 by the end of the first quarter, the odds were stacked against the Lakers to pick up their second-straight victory… until a late push in the fourth quarter blew open the game and resulted in a 123-116 Lakers win.

Anthony Davis was the leading scorer in the game and he followed up his excellent opening night with a 38-point, 7-rebound performance against the Suns. He shot 11-18 from the field and tallied two blocks in 36 minutes. He helped to make up the difference for LeBron James, who had a relatively quiet night with 21 points, 8 assists, and 4 rebounds on 53.8% shooting.

Austin Reaves dropped 26 points as the starting shooting guard, including 5-7 on three-pointers while rookie Dalton Knecht only got 13 minutes in the contest, leading all Lakers off the bench with 8 points on 40% shooting.

For the Suns, who shot 45.9% as a team from three, it was a tale of two halves. After a dominant display in the first two quarters, Kevin Durant tried his best to mount a comeback down the stretch but there simply wasn’t enough time make up the difference. He finished the game with 30 points, 6 assists, and 4 rebounds in the loss (11-17 FG) while his teammate and co-star Devin Booker was held to 23 points on 42.9% shooting.

As two teams with ambitious goals in the West this year, the Lakers and Suns will likely be seeing a lot more of each other this season, whether it’s a regular game, tournament game, or eventual playoff game. And while it’s still too early to draw any major conclusions, their latest victory can tell us a lot about their current standing in the West.

A Career Year For Anthony Davis

The most notable takeaway from the game is Anthony Davis’ sheer dominance. The 9x NBA All-Star has had an electric start to the season, beginning with his 36-point, 16-rebound effort on opening night to his game today, where he was the leader on both ends of the floor with 35 points (11-18 FG), 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks in the Lakers’ second-straight win.

Davis has played center in both of the Lakers’ games so far, with LeBron James and Rui Hachimura on the wing. Their shooting, along with the play of Austin Reaves in the backcourt, opened up the floor for Davis and after averaging 24.7 points per game last year, he’s leading the show this season with strong performances right out of the gate.

The star big man has been waiting to take the mantle of leadership for years in Los Angeles and now he may finally be ready for it after five years with the Lakers. If he can somehow maintain this level of play throughout the entire season, and avoid any injuries, it’ll make the Lakers a tough team to beat and put them in a position to surprise a lot of teams in the Western Conference.

Lakers Are Making Crucial In-Game Adjustments

As many fans pointed out, the Lakers were on track to lose this game before a series of mid-game shifts in strategy turned the score on its heels. In years past, under Darvin Ham, the Lakers might have resorted to isolation/hero ball in order to try and sneak out the win but with Redick in charge, they were able to tweak their approach mid-game and mount an impressive comeback to win.

As the team struggled in the second half, Redick decided to mix it up by running plays for Dalton Knecht, setting him up for easy buckets, and opening up the floor for everyone else. Redick also had the Lakers crash the glass down the stretch, limiting second-chance opportunities and adding second-shot opportunities.

With the victory, Redick became the first coach since Phil Jackson in 1999 to win his first two games and it’s the latest sign of good things for the Lakers. Most fans can agree that it’s a night-and-day difference between Redick and former coach Darvin Ham and the Lakers are playing smarter than they have in years. Tonight, we saw first-hand what kind of impact Redick is making and they look like a much better team.

The Lakers Were 14 Of 27 On 3-Pointers

The Lakers were down 17 points (81-64) with three minutes left in the third quarter before a string of nine straight points helped them grab the lead. It came as part of a 20-6 run for the Lakers, led by LeBron James, Rui Hacimura, and Dalton Knecht on the perimeter.

For the game, the Lakers shot 51.9% from three — a vast improvement from the season opener against the Timberwolves, where they shot just 16.7% from beyond the arc. Four out of the five Lakers starters hit a three-pointer and everyone in the rotation connected from deep at least once except for Jaxson Hayes and Anthony Davis.

For a team that’s struggled to hit their shots in the past, shooting is everything for the Lakers. If they can hit as they did tonight, the Lakers are a tough matchup for any team in the league. But even when they struggle with their shot, head coach JJ Redick has them playing in a way that they can still have a chance to win the game. It’s a different era for the Lakers and this season may look differently than most critics had in mind.