Hot outside shooting helps the Phoenix Suns defeat the Los Angeles Lakers
Fueled by some hot shooting from behind the arc, the Phoenix Suns (5-4) defeated the Los Angeles Lakers (8-2) 121-116 on Sunday 14 November at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
The Suns picked up their second-straight win while the Lakers have now lost their last two games after winning their first eight. Last night also marked the first loss for Los Angeles
within the confines of the Staples Center.
The Suns made 22 three-pointers on the night, second-most in NBA history. They finished one off the league record of 23, set by the Orlando Magic in January of 2009. The 22 made shots
represented a franchise record for threes allowed during a game by the Lakers.
Phoenix shooting guard Jason Richardson, who was 7-for-10 from deep, led all scorers with 35 points while Steve Nash, 2-for-3 from three-point range, finished with 21 points and 13 assists.
Hedo Turkoglu made five of his seven three-point attempts to finish with 17 points while Channing Frye, 4-for-9 from deep, finished with 20 points off the bench. Backup point guard Goran Dragic made three of five three pointers to finish with nine points.
When all was said and done, the Suns made 55 per cent of their three-point attempts, finishing 22-for-40 from behind the arc.
The Lakers were once again led by Pau Gasol, who finished with 28 points and a whopping 17 rebounds while Lamar Odom also posted a double-double with 22 points and 11 boards. Kobe Bryant
was one rebound shy of a triple-double, finishing with 25 points, nine rebounds, and 14 assists. Ron Artest and Shannon Brown finished with 13 and 12 points, respectively.
Despite the three-point barrage by the Suns, the Lakers were in the game until the end. The Lakers, who led the Suns 25-23 after the first quarter, entered half time down 56-53. But the
Suns heated up in the third, going 6-9 from three-point range in the quarter to take a 92-84 lead into the fourth. The Lakers got to within two points in the final frame but Nash scored eight straight points to keep his team ahead 112-108. On the next play,
Turkoglu hit one of his five three-pointers to put the Suns up for good.
What they said
Richardson clearly felt good about his shot all night.
"You just feel like the basket is huge and that every shot you throw up is going to go in," he said. "[Coach] Alvin [Gentry] was calling plays for me and my teammates were finding me.
It was just fun to have a night like that."
Nash said his team had a game plan which ended up working.
"We can't walk it up the floor against their length," he said. "You see Pau against us, it looks like he's playing with a nerf hoop on the back of someone's bedroom door. So we had to
make them play in transition, spread the floor and make it a game of speed and skill rather than size."
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