LeBron James and resilient Lakers defeat Suns, stay in hunt for No. 3 playoff seed

The ball is back in LeBron James’ hands, and he is thriving in his “new” role as the Lakers’ primary caretaker.

James is in this position in the wake of injuries to Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. He had been the third option behind Doncic and Reaves, and he shifted back to a role he has been accustomed to playing over his 23-year career.

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James has been a force over the last three games, with his latest standout performance coming Friday night in the Lakers’ 101-73 win over the Phoenix Suns at Crypto.com Arena.

Read more: Plaschke: Broken Lakers need to shut down the season

James finished with 28 points, 12 assists and six rebounds to help the Lakers secure at least the No. 4 seed in the uber-tough Western Conference.

The Lakers (52-29) still have a shot at the third seed if they beat the Utah Jazz at home on Sunday and if the third-place Denver Nuggets lose at San Antonio on Sunday, the final day of the regular season. Because the Lakers won the tiebreaker over the Nuggets, they would get the higher seed over Denver if the two teams finish with identical records.

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“Obviously we are going to be able to feed off our crowd. That’s going to be great,” James said. “We’re going to have home court. That’s great for our fans. But the game is played in between the four lines. So, looking forward to that.”

James was 10 for 16 from the field against the Suns and two for two from three-point range.

Lakers guard Luke Kennard, center, controls the ball in front of Phoenix guards Amir Coffey, left, and Jamaree Bouyea during the first half Friday. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Over his last three games in this new role, James has averaged 24.6 points, 12.6 assists and 7.6 rebounds, shooting 60% from the field and 46% from three-point range.

He was on point from the beginning against the Suns.

James quickly went by a defender on a back-door cut, took a pass from Luke Kennard and threw down a two-handed, rim-rattling dunk. James flexed in front of his teammates on the bench, who stood to give their approval. The Suns called time out with four minutes and 53 seconds left in the first…

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Publish date : 2026-04-11 05:32:00

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