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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
PHOENIX (AP) -- Not even Shaquille O'Neal can carry his team
every night.
|  | | Phoenix Suns forward Shawn Marion shot 12-for-18 and scored 27 points. |
For the first time in three games since Kobe Bryant sprained his
ankle last week against Milwaukee, O'Neal's efforts weren't enough.
Shawn Marion scored 27 points and Jason Kidd had 22 points and
11 rebounds as the Suns snapped their seven-game losing streak to
Los Angeles by beating the Lakers 104-83 Monday night.
"It's not a championship or anything of that matter, but the
main thing is we played well," Kidd said. "We played great
defense and everybody touched the ball and we made shots when we
had to.
"Even though they didn't have Kobe, we still have to play, and
they've still got one of the best players in the world over
there."
O'Neal had 27 points and 12 rebounds, but only two other Lakers
-- Rick Fox with 13 and Derek Fisher with 10 -- were in double
figures.
Bryant had 38 points in a Dec. 28 victory over the Suns and 32
in an 85-83 win Feb. 7, but O'Neal thought having to play less than
24 hours after beating Sacramento on the road was a bigger factor.
"They had a lot more energy than we did, and it was just
probably one of those days for us -- tired legs, banged-up bodies.
We didn't have any energy, any enthusiasm," O'Neal said.
The last Suns win over the Lakers was on March 24, 1999. Until
Monday, Suns coach Scott Skiles was 0-5 against them.
"The last umpteen times we've beaten them, and they're well
aware of it," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "They came out for
some blood tonight."
Tom Gugliotta had 14 points and Cliff Robinson 13 as Phoenix
extended its winning streak to four games.
Phoenix broke to a 62-40 lead when Kidd, who also had nine
assists, made a jumper 20 seconds into the third quarter. But the
Suns made only 8 of their next 20 shots the rest of the period and
Los Angeles began to narrow the score.
The Lakers closed to 76-63 on two free throws by O'Neal with
1:54 left in the third and went into the fourth quarter trailing
80-67 when O'Neal made a putback just before the buzzer.
Devean George sank a jumper at the start of the fourth, but Kidd
started and finished a 9-2 spurt with a pair of 16-foot jumpers,
sending Phoenix to an 89-71 lead with 7:05 remaining.
About a minute later, Marion grabbed an offensive rebound that
led to his alley-oop dunk for a 91-73 lead.
The Suns came out running, using the fast break to keep O'Neal
from setting up on defense. Phoenix led for all but 12 seconds of
the first quarter and dominated the second.
"The key to the game was that Shaq had a lot of touches, but
only 15 shots," Skiles said. "Everybody did a good job of
collapsing on him."
The Suns got their first double-digit lead when Mario Elie
nailed a 3-pointer from the corner with 6:18 left in the first
half, sending the Suns ahead 49-29, and took a 58-38 lead on a
three-point play by Marion with 12 seconds to go before
intermission.
Mike Penberthy made two free throws for the Lakers, but Marion,
who had 11 points in the second quarter, restored the 20-point lead
with an 8-foot jumper at the buzzer.
Game notes
The Lakers are 9-9 in the second game of a back-to-back.
... The Lakers are 3-1 with Brian Shaw starting for Bryant at
shooting guard. ... The Suns are 40-13 when they keep an opponent
from scoring 100 points. ... The Suns outrebounded the Lakers, the
NBA's top rebounding team, 44-35.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
LA Lakers Clubhouse
Phoenix Clubhouse
RECAPS
Philadelphia 90
Milwaukee 78
Denver 109
Chicago 104
Phoenix 104
LA Lakers 83
Dallas 98
Utah 90
Portland 104
LA Clippers 96
Seattle 104
Cleveland 86
New York 89
Golden State 87
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