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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
PHOENIX (AP) -- Kobe Bryant made short work of the Phoenix Suns
and earned himself a short night on the court.
|  | | Kobe Bryant of the Lakers shoots over Paul McPherson on Thursday. |
Bryant scored 18 of his game-high 38 points in the third quarter
as the Los Angeles Lakers beat Phoenix 115-78 Thursday night,
matching the Suns' worst home loss ever.
Bryant, whose scoring average of 30.0 points leads the NBA, was
12-of-19 from the floor and 11-of-11 from the line in only 33
minutes.
"I felt like I could go to any spot on the floor and capitalize
on what the defense was doing," said Bryant, who surpassed the
35-point mark for the 11th time this season. "I was in the flow
and felt like anything they would do, they couldn't stop me."
Shaquille O'Neal had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers.
Ron Harper added 11 for Los Angeles, which won for the sixth time
in seven games despite playing without starting forward Horace
Grant, who had back spasms.
"We usually have some sort of letdown but we didn't have it
tonight," O'Neal said. "That was one of the most complete games
we've played all season."
Jason Kidd scored 15 points to lead the Suns, who shot a
season-low 30.5 percent from the floor for their fourth loss in six
games. Tony Delk and Rodney Rogers had 12 each for Phoenix.
"We didn't make any shots and we definitely didn't stop them,"
Kidd said. "That's why we got our hat handed to us tonight."
Bryant surpassed his season average on a wild sequence with 7:13
left in third quarter.
He drove the baseline to score a layup as he was fouled by
Phoenix center Chris Dudley. After the whistle, Dudley flipped the
ball toward the backcourt and was called for his second technical
of the game.
Bryant made both the technical and regular free throw to give
the Lakers their biggest lead to that point, 67-48.
The game was extremely close until midway through the second
period; Los Angeles outscored Phoenix 64-37 over the second and
third quarters.
"The Lakers don't have any respect for us," Suns coach Scott
Skiles said. "They feel like they can beat us whenever they want
to and they do. We have a tendency to play scared against them. A
good team like that can smell that and just take it to you."
The teams traded the lead 15 times and were tied on seven other
occasions. Rodney Rogers evened the game for the final time, 33-33,
with 5:50 left in the first half.
But then Bryant and the Lakers took control. O'Neal started a
7-0 run with a dunk and an assist on a driving dunk by Robert
Horry, and Bryant scored nine of the Lakers' final 16 points of the
half as Los Angeles opened a 51-40 halftime lead.
"I don't know what was with Phoenix tonight but we came out and
played a good second quarter," Lakers coach Phil Jackson. "In the
third quarter, they came out and played small ball on us and the
result was we just kept pouring it on."
Game
notes
The Suns lost 144-107 at home against the Lakers on Oct.
31, 1985. ... Thursday's 37-point margin was Phoenix's worst
anywhere since a 151-107 defeat at Seattle on April 2, 1988. ...
Dudley and Lakers reserve Stanislav Medvedenko were whistled for a
double technical with 38.6 seconds remaining in the first half. ...
Mark Madsen made his first career start, in Grant's place, and
played the first eight minutes before returning to the bench for
the rest of the half. ... The Suns had held 11 straight opponents
under 100 points. Los Angeles' 115 points were the most scored
against Phoenix this season. ... The Lakers have won 17 of their
last 20 against Phoenix.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
LA Lakers Clubhouse
Phoenix Clubhouse
RECAPS
Milwaukee 107
Cleveland 89
Boston 112
New Jersey 111
Orlando 102
Detroit 96
Dallas 105
LA Clippers 96
Minnesota 88
Atlanta 81
Portland 103
Utah 102
Chicago 105
San Antonio 104
Toronto 94
Denver 93
LA Lakers 115
Phoenix 78
Sacramento 91
Charlotte 87
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Kobe Bryant Official Site
Rick Fox Official Site
Mark Madsen Official Site
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