Recap: LA Lakers vs. Phoenix
Sports Network | May 18, 2010
Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - Kobe Bryant dispelled any rumors of his ailing body by dropping 40 points on 13-of-23 shooting from the field to pace the Los Angeles Lakers to a thorough 128-107 beating of the Phoenix Suns in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals.
Bryant, who has dealt with a balky ankle and arthritic finger for most of the season, recently had fluid drained from his right knee, causing the former league MVP to miss practice time after wrapping up a second-round sweep over Utah last Monday.
The six days of rest apparently fueled Bryant and the rest of the defending champions, who rolled to a seventh straight win since being tied with Oklahoma City, 2-2, in the first round of the playoffs.
"My knee felt fine. I've been wearing a sleeve the entire playoffs," Bryant said. "I'm not going to lose a lot [without practice]...It was one of the most efficient games of my playoff career."
Pau Gasol powered an efficient front-court with 21 points, while Lamar Odom added 19 points and 19 rebounds off the bench for LA, which won the rebounding battle, 42-34, and outscored Phoenix in the paint, 56-36.
"It wasn't the post-up plays with the big guys, it was the perimeter guys driving into the paint," Suns head coach Alvin Gentry said of the disparity. "They broke down our perimeter defense and got into the paint...We just have to do a better job on defense of slowing them down. We can't let them score 128 points."
The Suns, needing to rely on their long range prowess to offset a disadvantage down low, shot a paltry 5-of-22 from behind the arc compared to a surprising 8-of-17 effort for the Lakers.
"We have to have other dimensions of our game...We have to be efficient in a few areas so we don't rely on one thing," Suns guard Steve Nash said. "Our room for error is small."
Amare Stoudemire led Phoenix with 23 points, Jason Richardson scored 15 and Nash ended with 13 points and 13 assists in the setback, the team's first since a Game 4 loss against Portland in the first round.
Robin Lopez, appearing in his first game since March 26 due to a back injury, recorded 14 points and six rebounds in 24 minutes for the Suns.
Phoenix will look to rebound in Game 2 on Wednesday, also at Staples Center.
The Suns, who also had a week to rest after sweeping the Spurs in the second round, scored the first seven points of the game, though the Lakers quickly erased that deficit when Odom put in a bank shot and hit a three-pointer to tie things at 22-all at the four-minute mark of the opening quarter.
Those baskets ignited an 18-4 LA spurt to end the stanza, as Bryant's buzzer- beating runner gave the hosts a 35-26 edge heading to the second.
The Lakers continued to play front-runner in the second quarter with superior inside play. Phoenix stayed close and was within 62-55 at halftime on two late Grant Hill free throws.
Bryant erupted in the third stanza, hitting 7-of-10 from the field for 21 points to help the Lakers pull away.
A quick nine-point stretch late in the frame saw Gasol hit a short fadeaway and feed Bryant with a backdoor bounce pass en route to a three-point play. Nash followed with a turnover, and Bryant threw down a two-handed slam, and Gasol added another jumper for a 91-72 cushion with 2:45 left.
"This is a surprise for us. We thought this was going to be a close game, but we were able to jump away in the third quarter," said Lakers head coach Phil Jackson, who is 46-0 in series when his team has won Game 1. "Kobe carried a lot of the offense tonight, but Lamar came off the bench and gave us a good boost."
The margin was 93-79 with a quarter to play, and the closest the Suns got was 12 on Leandro Barbosa's bucket in the opening minute.
A Gasol three-point play and Shannon Brown trifecta bookended a 10-0 run, the latter resulting in an insurmountable 113-87 differential with just under eight minutes remaining.
Both benches were cleared for the remainder of the contest.
Bryant, who also recorded five rebounds and five assists, has 11 career 40- plus point games in the postseason...Phoenix, in the conference finals for the first time since 2006, has never captured an NBA title and hasn't made it to the NBA Finals since 1993...The Lakers are appearing in their third straight conference final and are attempting to become the first repeat league champions since they won three in a row from 2000-02...LA won three of four games vs. Phoenix in the regular season, though the Suns have won four of the last five playoff sets between the two teams...Lakers center Andrew Bynum, who has struggled with a small tear in the meniscus of his right knee, had four points and four rebounds in 19 minutes...Ron Artest added 14 points for the Lakers...Goran Dragic and Barbosa contributed 13 and 11 points, respectively, for the Suns...The Lakers have won nine straight home playoff games.
