LeBron James 'Feels Great' After Lakers Get First Win

LeBron James was happy that the Los Angeles Lakers stuck to their game plan en route to getting their first win of the regular season.

After starting off their campaign going 0-3, the Lakers finally got on the win column after their victory over the Phoenix Suns at the Talking Stick Resort Arena on Wednesday night.

The first quarter was evenly contested until the Lakers really pulled away in the second quarter with 44 points that saw them take a 76-54 lead at halftime. From there, the game was already won as they went on to win in a comfortable 131-113 victory.

James contributed with 19 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists in 28 minutes of action while Lance Stephenson scored a team-high 23 points and Josh Hart and Kyle Kuzma combined for 32 points.

"We stuck to the gameplan for as close to 48 minutes as possible," James told reporters after the game. "We knew if we let a young team like this get comfortable then they're going to be really dangerous which they showed in their first game when they played the Mavericks here."

"...We got defensive stops, we didn't foul, we kept guys off the free throw line which is something we've been talking about for a long time, and we shared the ball offensively," he added.

The Akron native's assessment was shared by head coach Luke Walton, who was pleased that his young side was getting better at the things they've been working on.

"We're continuing to get better at these things," Walton explained after the game. "Not put them on the free throw line nearly as much as we've been doing — we did a good job of that. We kept stressing rebounds, sharing the ball, I think we had 34 assists, 68 points in the paint again, so the things that we're focusing on, we're getting better at."

The win comes as a huge relief for everyone associated to the Los Angeles franchise.

After all the preseason expectations of reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2013, a 0-3 start was not ideal, especially as the last time James had started a season like that was in 2004 when the Cleveland Cavaliers failed to make the playoffs that year.

The 33-year-old though, said the win felt great but more so, because of the work the roster has put in over the course of the first few games as he hopes they only continue to improve.

"It feels great. It's a win, period," James added. "It feels good for us to know what we've been doing over the training camp in these first few games to continue to get better. I think we've gotten better tonight and we want to continue that going forward."

There will be no rest for the Lakers as they will now host the red-hot Denver Nuggets (4-0) at the Staples Center on Thursday. The Nuggets most recently defeated the Sacramento Kings in a 126-112 win on Tuesday to extend their unbeaten start to the 2018/19 season.