NBA Playoffs 2007 First Round: Lakers vs. Suns, Game 2.
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Phoenix Suns. Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom vs. Steve Nash and Amare Soudemire. NBA Playoffs 2007 First Round recaps, hightlights, quotes and pictures.
NBA Playoffs 2007 First Round |
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Series Index: Game 1: Suns 95, Lakers 87 at Phoenix. - Game recap & pictures Game 2: Suns 126, Lakers 98 at Phoenix. - Game recap & pictures Game 3: Lakers 95, Suns 89 at Los Angeles - Game recap & pictures Game 4: Suns 113, Lakers 100 at LA Lakers - Game recap & pictures Game 5: Suns 119, Lakers 110 at Phoenix - Game recap & pictures |
GAME 2: Suns 126 - Lakers 98It can't get worse, can it? |
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4/24 - US AIRWAYS CENTER - PHOENIX. It wasn't the Lakers worst loss in their playoff history, but it was close. Los Angeles was demolished by the Suns 98-126. The game showed two teams that are clearly on different levels. The Suns looked like an orchestra, everybody executing, everybody defending, everybody running, everybody making shots. By halftime they have scored 68 points (the worst for the Lakers in one half this season) and the game was already over. Instead of shooting from the beginning, like he did on game 1. Kobe Bryant tried to involve his teammates but not even Steve Nash could have done that this night. Kobe finished with 15 points... and he was the Lakers top scorer. The highest note in the Suns concert was again 6th Man of the Year Leandro Barbosa, who scored, again, 26 points and has a speed looks fast even for the running Suns. The Lakers seem unable to find an answer for him. To make things worse, Jackson inexplicably sent Bryant back in the game with his team down by 28 points in the fourth and Kobe injured his right ankle. He's expected to play on Thursday but Jackson better find a magic recipe in his tactics' book or the series will be over before it's over. The Lakers' worst playoff loss was at Utah in May 1998: 112-77. |
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The QuotesLamar Odom (LAL): "It was really embarrassing to come in here and lose such an important game the way we lost it,... We need to think about some things as a team. It's kind of sad, but I don't know that we're as close as a team right now as far as camaraderie and things like that. That's the only way you lose games like this -- when you're not close." Mike D'Antoni (Phoenix Coach): "It's hard to single things out. Our defense was really good, our rebounding was really good, we really ran well, and I don't know if we can play any better than that." Kobe Bryant (LAL): "It's not like we have the best talent in the league, so we really have to pride ourselves on playing hard all the time. Talent-wise, if we try to go mano-a-mano with them, absolutely not. The Phoenix Suns are an incredibly deep team... We have to play a smarter game. We have to play hard and we have to win the hustle points." |
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Highlights
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