April 8th: Suns hold off Kobe's 51. Lakers' Single-Game Playoff Tickets Go On Sale

Phil · Retired Joined: 03 Aug 2001 Posts: 10007

Suns hold off Kobe's 51
Bryant scores arena-record 51 points but Phoenix earns 50th win

Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic
Apr. 8, 2006 12:00 AM

Kobe Bryant set an arena scoring record with 51 points. The biggest shot of the night was hit by a Suns fan, not a Suns player. And Phoenix still left US Airways Center a bit disconcerted about the direction of its play lately.

That is how Phoenix victory No. 50 finally came and that's how the Suns' magic number to clinch the Pacific Division was sliced in half to two Friday. Only Wilt Chamberlain (61) and Michael Jordan (53) had scored more points against the Suns than what Bryant had Friday but the Suns still won 107-96, sending the Lakers into a seventh-place tie with Sacramento that would have the Kings playing Phoenix in the first round of the playoffs if they began today.

"Raja (Bell) held him under 80 and that's pretty good," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said. "We score a lot of points and Kobe is bound to miss a few shots. He is human. We try to keep everyone else out of the game and we spread everyone out on the floor. We are still in a little bit of a funk and we have to just keep battling through this."

Phil · Retired Joined: 03 Aug 2001 Posts: 10007

Bad sign: Kobe's 51 too few

Suns 107, Lakers 96 LA is tied with the Kings for No. 7 in the West.

12:58 AM PDT on Saturday, April 8, 2006

By BRODERICK TURNER
The Press-Enterprise

PHOENIX - If this were a first-round playoff preview for the Lakers, it was one Los Angeles didn't like.

Phoenix opened the fourth quarter by outscoring the Lakers by 14 to blow open a one-point game, and the Suns beat LA for the seventh straight time, 107-96 on Friday night.

Kobe Bryant had 51 points a night after scoring 42 in an overtime loss at Denver, but he didn't score in the fourth quarter until the 6:23 mark.

With Sacramento beating the Clippers, the Lakers and Kings are tied for the seventh spot in the Western Conference playoff race. The Lakers and Kings split their season series; the next tiebreaker is divisional records. The Kings have a better record (10-5) against Pacific Division foes than the Lakers (6-7).

The Suns likely will be the No. 2 seed in the playoffs, meaning they would play the seventh seed. The No. 8 team would play the top team -- currently San Antonio -- in the first round.

The Spurs are the defending champs, have beaten the Lakers three of four times this season and pose matchup problems.

Plus, Coach Phil Jackson said he'd rather not fly to Texas.

A matchup with Phoenix "makes it easier for your team to commute," he said.

Phil · Retired Joined: 03 Aug 2001 Posts: 10007

Lakers notes: Lineup might be a closing success
By Ross Siler, Staff Writer

PHOENIX - There wasn't a lot for the Lakers to take away from Thursday night's overtime loss to Denver, a three-hour marathon of a game. But coach Phil Jackson might have found a lineup he can use to close out games from now into the playoffs.

With Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, Devean George, Luke Walton and Kwame Brown on the floor, the Lakers erased the Nuggets' lead in the fourth quarter and forced overtime.

The lineup puts five players on the court who are all 6-foot-6 or taller and well-versed in Jackson's triangle offense. The Lakers matched up defensively against the Nuggets, with Bryant taking point guard Andre Miller and George guarding Carmelo Anthony.

"I envisioned this team playing with that group of guys on the floor prior to this season beginning," Jackson said Friday, "because I think at a certain level they can play kind of like a matchup zone and play pretty well defensively."

Jackson benched starting guard Smush Parker for the final 8:08 of the fourth quarter before bringing him back in overtime after Odom fouled out. Parker finished with six points on 2-of-9 shooting against Denver.

Only a night later, Parker had the most critical assignment for the Lakers in stopping Phoenix's Steve Nash. Such is life in the NBA.

"It's a good game for him to recover and play well for us," Jackson said of Parker. "We need him to play well."

Phil · Retired Joined: 03 Aug 2001 Posts: 10007

Suns earn 7th straight win over Lakers
By Bob Baum
The Associated Press
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 04.08.2006

PHOENIX — Kobe Bryant can score all the points he wants as far as the Phoenix Suns are concerned, as long as they come away with the victory.
Bryant's 51 points weren't enough to keep the Suns from beating the Los Angeles Lakers for the seventh time in a row, 107-96, Friday night in a matchup of potential first-round playoff opponents.
Steve Nash had 25 points and eight assists but was on the bench when the Suns pulled away with an 18-4 run to start the fourth quarter after Los Angeles had closed to within one.
The Suns moved six games ahead of the second-place Los Angeles Clippers in the Pacific Division with seven to play. The Lakers, meanwhile, dropped into a tie with Sacramento for the No. 7 spot in the Western Conference.
Bryant, who made 19 of 33 shots, broke the U.S. Airways Center record of 50 held by Amare Stoudemire and Cliff Robinson. The former America West Arena opened in 1992.
"You feel like if he's taking all those shots, the other guys aren't really scoring," Nash said. "We don't feel like if he has a huge night, that we can't win, that's for sure."
Only two players have scored more against the Suns — Wilt Chamberlain with 66 for the Lakers on Feb. 9, 1969, and Michael Jordan with 53 for Chicago on Jan. 21, 1989.
"Oh yeah?" Bryant said. "That's pretty good company — excellent company."

Phil · Retired Joined: 03 Aug 2001 Posts: 10007

Lakers still winless against the Steve Nash-led Suns
BY KEVIN DING
The Orange County Register

PHOENIX - If they want to avoid playing the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the playoffs, the Los Angeles Lakers are getting closer to their goal.

That's about all the Lakers are doing lately, losing to the Suns, 107-96, on Friday night to follow up a loss in Denver on Thursday night. The defeats almost certainly dashed the Lakers' hopes of moving up to sixth place in the Western Conference (Memphis is now 4 1/2 games ahead of the Lakers) and left the Lakers tied with Sacramento for the seventh and eighth spots - with the Kings holding the tiebreaker because they would finish with a superior Pacific Division record.

If the Lakers finish eighth, they'd likely face San Antonio, but possibly Dallas. Lakers coach Phil Jackson has been pleased with his team's ability to compete with the Spurs and Mavericks this season, but this loss to Phoenix dropped the Lakers to 0-7 against the Suns since they signed Steve Nash - and the Lakers traded Shaquille O'Neal.

"I'm not happy about it," Jackson said of the losses to Phoenix, "but I'm not concerned."

Kobe Bryant, whose 51 points Friday night were the most ever scored in US Airways Center since it was built in 1992, also expressed confidence that the Lakers could figure out the Suns. Bryant called the Suns' three victories this season - with one more game left April16 at Staples Center - "not that big a deal."

Phil · Retired Joined: 03 Aug 2001 Posts: 10007

Lakers Can't Keep Pace
Outrun and outgunned by the Suns, they lose, 107-96, despite 51 points by Bryant and fall into a tie for seventh with Sacramento in the West.
By Mike Bresnahan, Times Staff Writer
April 8, 2006

PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns did their thing, running up and down the court, flicking three-pointers toward the rim whenever humanly possible, and the Lakers did their best to hang before finally setting in the fourth quarter.

It was entertaining, as it usually is when the Suns are involved, but the Lakers suffered their second road loss in as many nights against a playoff team, which they still aren't officially.

Kobe Bryant had 51 points and little help from anyone besides Lamar Odom in a 107-96 loss Friday at US Airways Center. Odom had 17 points, 11 rebounds and five assists.

Kwame Brown was quiet (four points in 17 minutes), the Laker bench was a total non-factor (six points on two-for-14 shooting) and there wasn't much to be done about a fourth quarter owned by the Suns.

Making matters worse for the Lakers, Sacramento pulled into a tie with them for seventh in the Western Conference, and the Kings own the tiebreaker because of a significantly better divisional record. Ninth-place New Orleans/Oklahoma City trails them both by only two games.

To say the Lakers don't match up well with the Suns is the understatement of the season in the Pacific Division, the Lakers now 0-3 against them this season and 0-7 since the Shaquille O'Neal trade.

Phil · Retired Joined: 03 Aug 2001 Posts: 10007

Update 1: Suns Dump Lakers Despite Kobe's 51 Points
By BOB BAUM , 04.08.2006, 02:48 AM

Kobe Bryant can score all the points he wants as far as the Phoenix Suns are concerned, as long as they come away with the victory. Bryant's 51 points weren't enough to keep the Suns from beating the Los Angeles Lakers for the seventh time in a row, 107-96, on Friday night in a matchup of potential first-round playoff opponents.

Steve Nash had 25 points and eight assists but was on the bench when the Suns pulled away with an 18-4 run to start the fourth quarter after Los Angeles had closed to within one.

The Suns pulled six games ahead of the second-place Los Angeles Clippers in the Pacific Division with seven to play. The Lakers, meanwhile, dropped into a tie with Sacramento for the No. 7 spot in the Western Conference.

Bryant, who made 19-of-33 shots, broke the U.S. Airways Center record of 50 held by Amare Stoudemire and Cliff Robinson. The former America West Arena opened in 1992.

"You feel like if he's taking all those shots, the other guys aren't really scoring," Nash said. "We don't feel like if he has a huge night, that we can't win, that's for sure."

Phil · Retired Joined: 03 Aug 2001 Posts: 10007

NBA Game Summary - LA Lakers at Phoenix
April 08, 2006
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Phoenix, AZ (Sports Network) - Steve Nash scored 25 points and Leandro Barbosa added 23, as Phoenix overcame a 51-point performance from Kobe Bryant to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers, 107-96, at US Airways Center.

Seven Suns scored in double figures to thwart Bryant's virtuoso performance. The guard's 51 points were the most scored by a player in the history of US Airways Arena -- previously called America West Arena -- and the third most ever against the Suns. Ironically enough, Wilt Chamberlain's 66 points are the most ever tallied against Phoenix.

"We limited them to one shot and made them take some tough outside shots," said Suns forward Shawn Marion. "We forced the tempo of the game and overall we controlled the game for the most part."

Lamar Odom added 17 points and 11 rebounds while Smush Parker contributed 14 points in the team's second straight loss. The Lakers have also lost seven straight games against Phoenix, the longest losing streak against one team in the franchise's storied history.

The loss pushed Los Angeles into a tie for the seventh playoff spot in the Western Conference with Sacramento, which defeated the Clippers, 96-93, on Friday night.

"I was disappointed in our fourth quarter beginning," said Lakers head coach Phil Jackson. "We put ourselves in a good position, and didn't score for the first three minutes of the fourth quarter. We gave it away in the fourth, and went from one to eleven."

Phil · Retired Joined: 03 Aug 2001 Posts: 10007

Suns survive Kobe
By Jerry Brown, Tribune
April 8, 2006
This is how things are going for the Suns right now. Even when they win, they lose. After hitting “rock bottom” in Wednesday’s embarrassing home loss to the Clippers, the Suns smoothed out some rough edges, weathered a 51-point storm by Kobe Bryant and finally reached the 50-win mark with a 107-96 win over the Lakers Friday.
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“If we were at the bottom of the ladder, we came up a rung,” Suns coach Mike D’Antoni said.

The Suns sliced their magic number for winning the Pacific Division in half, to two. But in beating Los Angeles for the third time in as many meetings this season, they pushed the Lakers — their preferred opponent in the first round of the playoffs — out of the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference. Sacramento beat the Clippers Friday and while having an identical 40-37 record as the Lakers, owns the tiebreaker and is technically seventh.

If the season ended today, the Suns would draw Mike Bibby, Ron Artest and the Kings.

Bryant set an arena record for points — Amaré Stoudemire and Clifford Robinson of the Suns shared the mark at 50 — and hit 19 of 33 shots from the floor. He had 30 at the half and 13 more in the third quarter, when the Lakers cut a 13-point deficit to one at 80-79.

Phil · Retired Joined: 03 Aug 2001 Posts: 10007

Lakers' Single-Game Playoff Tickets Go On Sale

(CBS) LOS ANGELES Los Angeles Laker single-game playoff tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday at all Ticketmaster locations, Ticketmaster online or by calling (800) 4-NBA-TIX.

Tickets will be limited to six per person, per game.

About 2,000 tickets will be available, which will sell fast, according to John Black, the team’s executive director of public relations.

Tickets will not be sold at Staples Center.

Phil · Retired Joined: 03 Aug 2001 Posts: 10007

Being on TNT Not Exactly Dynamite
By Mike Bresnahan, Times Staff Writer
April 8, 2006

PHOENIX — Laker Coach Phil Jackson has devoted plenty of time to tweaking the referees, Dallas Maverick owner Mark Cuban, and the referees again (and again) for good measure.

He turned his attention to another target: TV.

The Lakers have played the second game of TNT's Thursday night doubleheader eight times this season. They are almost always late nights — the second game of the doubleheader often starts later than expected, and the TV timeouts are excruciatingly long. The Lakers have then followed TNT Thursdays with a game the next day on five occasions.

The Lakers' 110-108 overtime loss to Denver ended at 11:50 p.m. Thursday in Colorado. The Lakers then boarded their charter jet to Phoenix, arriving at 3 a.m.

"There's games you lose to attrition to the NBA scheduling. It's as simple as that," Jackson said. "We don't like to think the NBA Thursday night's going to be that way, but it hasn't been easy to do. It hasn't really worked out well, especially for the teams in the West that have to play the late game."

The Lakers are 4-4 on TNT Thursdays and 1-4 in games the next day.