NBA Scores: Los Angeles Lakers 114 Phoenix Suns 106

With Kobe Bryant sitting out it didn’t look good for the Los Angeles Lakers. After the first quarter against the Phoenix Suns it looked absolutely scary. Trailing 41-27 after the first frame the Lakers turned to Lamar Odom to bring them back.

The Lakers forward didn’t let the home crowd down. By halftime the Lakers had cut the Suns lead to five 58-53. The Lakers held the Suns to just 17 second quarter points as the shooting hand of Shawn Marion, Raja Bell and Steve Nash went cold.

Phoenix was never able to match their start as Los Angeles came out in the third quarter and put 34 points on the board while limiting the Suns to 21. Having erased a 19 point first half deficit, the Lakers never looked back.

Huge performances from Lamar Odom who finished with 34 points and 13 rebounds and 19-year-old Andrew Bynum who added 18 and 9 paced the Lakers season opening victory. The Lakers also got big games from Maurice Evans who had 17 points off the bench and Luke Walton who contributed another 11 points, going 5-8 from the field.

It became evident throughout the game that the Suns struggled against the more physical Lakers. The Suns were out-rebounded 43-29 on the night and allowed 12 offensive rebounds to grabbed by the Lakers.

Leandro Barbosa led the Suns with 30 points while Steve Nash added 15 points and 13 assists in a losing effort. 

Los Angeles Lakers 114 Phoenix Suns 106