Phoenix Rattle the Lakers for Big Win

Written by Joseph Tames Monday, 28 December 2009 22:54

Phoenix, Ariz.—December 28, 2009. The Phoenix Suns, after losing to a 7-21 Golden State Warriors team, rebounded to defeat the defending World Champions, the Los Angeles Lakers, 118-103 in front of a sellout crowd at US Airways Center.

The Suns and the Lakers were in a fighting mood early, trading baskets and complaining to the officials about each other’s rough play. However, it was the Suns, with a 25-23 lead after one period, which began to pull away.

With Kobe Bryant resting on the bench, Phoenix opened the second period with a 7-0 run. Lakers head coach Phil Jackson saw enough and inserted Bryant back into the lineup. The Suns continued to put pressure on Los Angeles until the Suns’ Channing Frye and the Lakers’ Shannon Brown got into a tussle at half court, drawing double technical fouls. Phoenix was unfazed by Kobe and the Lakers and went into halftime with a six-point lead.

Everyone in the building knew Bryant was ready to breakout of his 17-point performance and he did not disappoint. Kobe scored 15 of the Lakers’ 27 points in the third quarter but it still wasn’t enough to overcome the Suns. The Suns’ starters managed to put up 30 of the 33 points scored for Phoenix and the team and crowd began to get excited with a 12-point lead after three periods.

Bryant and the Lakers tried to catch up to the fast-running Suns but were unable to do so. The Suns’ Leandro Barbosa hit a 14-footer to put Phoenix up 18 with 8:38 left in the game. The Lakers’ Jordan Farmar hit a three-pointer on the next possession and Jackson subbed out Brown for Bryant. Kobe never saw the floor again as Phoenix increased its lead to as much as 22 points before settling with a 15-point win.

Amar’e Stoudemire led all Suns’ scorers with 26 points. Jared Dudley, who is seeing increased minutes for his hustle and three-point shooting, had 19 points on 6-of-10 field goals. Steve Nash had 16 points and Frye and Goran Dragic each had 14 points. For the record, the Suns’ bench scored 52 points; the Lakers’ bench only had 31. Stoudemire added 11 rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot to his line. Nash, who is leading the league in assists, added 13 more tonight. Nash had as many assists as the Lakers had as a team.

Bryant led all scorers with 34 points, followed by Andrew Bynum’s 14 points and Pau Gasol’s 13 points. Lamar Odom grabbed 13 rebounds and Gasol handed out five assists.

Phoenix head coach Alvin Gentry was cautious with his team’s win over the best team in the NBA. “I thought we played with so much energy. …But as I said before this game, before we even tipped it off, it’s one win. We would like to get five or six wins for this win, but its one win against a real quality team. …It’s not a statement game. It doesn’t say anything about where we. It just says that we played hard against a great team tonight and I’m real pleased with that.

Phoenix (20-12) takes a day off before tackling the world champions from two years ago, the Boston Celtics (23-6). Phoenix will take on Boston on Wednesday, December 30, at US Airways Center. Tipoff is 7:00 pm MST. The Lakers (24-6) return to Staples Center to take on the Golden State Warriors (8-21) on Tuesday, December 29, at 7:30 pm PST.