Suns rout Lakers 126-98, take 2-0 lead
(AP)Updated: 2007-04-25 14:27 The Phoenix Suns' offense is racing at top speed, and that Game 2 jinx is history.
The Suns revved up their frenetic style to near perfection on Tuesday night in a 126-98 rout of the Los Angeles Lakers that put Phoenix up 2-0 in the best-of-seven first-round series.
The Suns had lost five consecutive playoff Game 2s, including one at home against the Lakers a year ago. But it was apparent early that this would be no replay. Phoenix led by 21 in the second quarter and 28 in the third.
 Los Angeles Lakers' Lamar Odom, left, and Luke Walton sit on the bench in the fourth quarter of a Western Conference playoff basketball game against the Phoenix Suns Tuesday, April 24, 2007 at U.S. Airways Center in Phoenix. The Suns defeated the Lakers 126-98. [AP]  |
Leandro Barbosa, presented with the NBA Sixth Man Award trophy before tipoff, scored 26 to match his career playoff high for the second game in a row, leading six Suns in double figures.
Steve Nash had 16 points and 14 assists, then sat out the final 14 1/2 minutes.
Amare Stoudemire, who was watching in street clothes when the Suns lost Game 2 to the Lakers a year ago, added 20 points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots -- two of them spectacular ones against Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom to set the tone in the first quarter.
Shawn Marion had 18 points and 10 rebounds. Raja Bell scored 11, including 3-of-5 3-pointers. James Jones scored 12.
Bryant tried to beat the Suns by himself in Game 1. This time, he mainly deferred to his teammates. The strategy that worked so well a year ago was a flop.
The NBA's scoring champ, coming off a 39-point performance in the Lakers' 95-87 loss in Game 1 on Sunday, scored 15 on 5-of-13 shooting. He shot 1-of-6 and scored six points in the final three quarters. He took one shot in the second quarter, and missed.
Game 3 is Thursday night in Los Angeles.
Phoenix took the lead for good in the first quarter, then put the pedal to the floor. The Suns outscored the Lakers 24-9 to start the second, taking a 55-34 lead on Barbosa's 3-pointer with 4:50 left in the half.
After Los Angeles cut it to 62-47 on Bryant's two free throws with 1:25 to play, the Suns scored the final six points of the half -- Marion's 9-foot runner, Nash's 21-footer and Boris Diaw's layup on a slick pass from Nash. Phoenix led 68-47 at the break.
That's 29 points more than the Suns managed in the first half of Game 1, when they trailed 48-39 at the break. They scored almost as many in the second quarter (37) as they did in the two first quarters of Game 1.
The Suns shot 54 percent for the game, and were above 60 percent during one span in the third quarter.
Jones' 3-pointer punctuated a 10-4 spurt to start the second half and made it 78-51. The lead reached 93-65 after Bell's 3-pointer with 2:40 to go in the third.
Barbosa missed his first three shots, then went 11-of-15 the rest of the way.
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