Homepage > NBA

NBA

Lakers Roll Past Suns

POSTED: 2:56 am EST November 21, 2008

(Sports Network) - Kobe Bryant scored 24 points and Lamar Odom filled the stat sheet with 13 points and nine rebounds off the bench, as the red-hot Lakers rolled past Phoenix, 105-92.

Vladimir Radmanovic contributed 15 points and Andrew Bynum posted 10 points and seven boards for the Lakers, who have won nine of 10 to open the season. Jordan Farmar donated 11 points off the bench and Trevor Ariza added 10.

"Defensively, we were pretty good, but I thought the Suns missed a lot of easy shots tonight and we got away with it," said Lakers coach Phil Jackson.

Amare Stoudemire scored a team-high 21 points to go along with eight rebounds, while Shaquille O'Neal netted 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds in defeat. Steve Nash dished out 10 assists to go along with eight points, and Grant Hill scored 11 off the bench for the Suns, who have dropped two in a row.

"We're still having a turnover problem," said O'Neal. "(The Lakers) are a pretty good team and they capitalized on our mistakes...they got a lot of shots. They had a little more energy than we did and it's just something we have to learn from this game and just try to pick it up and move on."

The Lakers held a narrow 26-24 lead after one period and took a 50-44 edge into the locker room.

Bryant asserted his offensive dominance with 11 points in the third period. The star guard and frontcourt mate Bynum controlled the scoring column early in the period, as Bynum and Bryant exchanged dunks for the first six LA points in the period and Bryant's trey moments later made the score 59-50.

A Derek Fisher jumper and a Bryant pull-up bucket pushed the advantage to 63-51 with 7:41 left in the stanza. Stoudemire's driving layup narrowed the deficit to eight points, 70-62, but Fisher and Radmanovic buried back-to-back threes to push the lead to 76-62.

Los Angeles slowly pulled away during the fourth quarter. A 13-point edge quickly turned into an 18-point differential with a 9-4 stretch to open the period. Ariza's jumper and Odom's trey capped the spurt with 8:34 on the clock.

The Lakers rolled to victory from there.

Game Notes

The Lakers improved to 5-0 on the road this season...Los Angeles has won four of the last five meetings between the two teams and three in a row in Phoenix...Fisher scored nine points with four assists...Boris Diaw reached double figures with 10 points in defeat.

Sports E-News

Sign up to receive daily sports headlines.
 


Links We Like
Sponsored Content
Try these simple tips to help keep your home, and your family, healthy during the colder months. More

A little short on space? Learn how to make the best of your limited square footage with these helpful tips to better small home style. More

If you’re feeling like you’re not doing what you’re supposed to, take this quiz and take control of your working destiny. More

Stop wandering around car dealership lots and take advantage of this powerful search engine that can help find the perfect car for you in no time. More

Don’t be left out. Make the switch to Digital TV.

Sponsored Links