Lakers vs Suns game two provides no upsets
Try as they might the Phoenix Suns just couldn’t find an answer for the current NBA champions the LA Lakers in game two of the Western Conference finals.
When they tried to double team Kobe Bryant he passed to a teammate and when the Suns tried to clog the lane the Lakers killed them from the outside. The end result? A 124-112 win and a stranglehold on the series taking a 2-0 lead.
Bryant scored 21 points, 19 points short of the 40 he scored last game, but did add 13 assists, while Pau Gasol scored 29 points to go along with nine rebounds and five assists.
"We're shooting the ball very well, moving the ball really, really well. Our bench is playing at a high level, and we're all stepping up,” Gasol said.
It was Lamar Odom who once again dominated off the bench, and after his last effort (19 points and 19 rebounds) was called a fluke by Amar’e Stoudemire, Odom scored 17 points, 11 rebounds and had three steals to help the Lakers move another step closer to the NBA finals.
The Suns’ tactics of trying to double Bryant failed to pay off as he regularly passed the ball to open teammates for easy baskets, with Gasol the main recipient.
"It makes the game a lot easier to have [Gasol] inside to catch and complete plays," Bryant said. "We're extremely well-versed in playing against teams that double and zone, things like that."
The Lakers remain unbeaten in the play-offs at home this year and despite the Suns making a push and tying the game at 90-a-piece the Lakers pulled away in the fourth quarter outscoring Phoenix 34-22.
"I thought we played well offensively, but every time we tried to make an adjustment to slow them down offensively, they would go somewhere else. There's a good reason they're the world champs, but we'll keep plugging away, keep trying,” Suns coach Alvin Gentry said.
Slowing the Lakers down is key for the Suns but in the last two games they haven’t found an answer for the Lake Show and if that trend continues the sun will be setting on Phoenix’s NBA championship dreams.
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