News / Sports
NBA Scores: Steve Nash Leads Phoenix Suns Past Kobe and the Lakers
Steve Nash scored 11 of his team-high 25 points in the fourth quarter and added 11 assists to lead the Phoenix Suns (58-19) to a 115-107 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers (40-37) on Sunday. Leandro Barbosa finished with 23 points while Raja Bell added 22 points as the Suns beat the Lakers to lead the season series 2-1. The two teams will meet again on April 13 in what is shaping up to be a match-up of first round opponents in the Western Conference playoffs.
Leandro Barbosa opened the second quarter with nine straight points and Phoenix had a one point advantage. After Smush Parker put the Lakers in front 37-36 the Suns went on an 11-0 run to take a 47-37 lead and never trailed the rest of the game.
Kobe Bryant scored nine points in the third quarter to pull the Lakers to within one but the Suns began to pull away in the middle of the fourth. When Raja Bell hit a three-pointer with 4:58 left in the game the Suns were up nine and the Lakers couldn’t get any closer.
Bell hit all six of his three-pointers as Phoenix shot 45 percent from beyond the arc.
The Lakers were led by Kobe who finished with 34 points and 7 assists while Lamar Odom added 10 points and 14 rebounds in the loss. Los Angeles dropped to seventh in the Western Conference playoff picture and are facing the possibility of meeting the Suns in the first round.
