NBA Playoffs 2007 First Round: Lakers vs. Suns, Game 4.

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
Los Angeles Lakers 1 vs. Phoenix Suns 4

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

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GAME 4:  Lakers 100 - Suns 113

At least Nash didn't have 24 assists

Leaders: points rebounds assists
Lakers 31: Bryant 13: Odom 9: Bryant
Suns 27: Stoudemire 21: Stoudemire 23: Nash
  1st 2nd 3rd 4th Tot
LAL 28 23 20 29 100
Pho 33 25 27 28 113
click for Lakers Playoff pictures (LA Daily News), Steve Nash, Lamar Odom, Game 4
click for pictures

4/29 - STAPLES CENTER - LOS ANGELES. The only positive note for the Lakers in the 113-100 loss at the Staples Center is that Steve Nash didn't broke Magic Johnson's record for assists in a playoff game.

Kobe Bryant had another good game with 31 points on 12-for-25 shooting, 9 assists and 7 rebounds, Odom gave everything he could in the second half but some Laker bodies (including Odom, Walton and Brown) are too damaged after a hard season and couldn't compete against the excellent and healthy team that are the Suns.

The strong defense the Lakers applied in game 3 couldn't be repeated here and the Suns scored 33 points in the first quarter to set the rhythm of the game. Amare Stoudemire found almost no opposition for his 27 points and 21 rebounds.

As always Phoenix was commanded by Nash, but this game he was superb. He had 15 assists by halftime tying Magic and Doc Rivers for assists in a half in playoffs. And if it was a bad night for the Lakers, it could have been much sadder, with Nash breaking Magic's (and Stockton's) record of 24 assists in a playoff game, but for everybody's surprise, coach Mike D'Antoni sent Nash to the bench with 23 assists and one minute left.

Only 8 teams in NBA history have won a playoff series after trailing 3-1 and that includes the Suns last year against the Lakers but the Lakers lead then was a surprise while the Suns lead this year is no surprise at all.

The Quotes

Phil Jackson (LAL Coach): "I'm not going to count them out. "They're a team that has shown remarkable resilience against all odds this season, injuries or whatnot. They've come back many times and found a way to do things. We want to bring this game back home on Friday."

Mike D'Antoni (Phoenix Coach): "The speed of the game was ours. They surprised us with their intensity in Game 3. Today wasn't a surprise. We have our system, and we ran it pretty good today. We had 34 assists on 41 baskets and that's because of our spacing. That's what we do -- we've done it all year."

Steve Nash (Phoenix): "Probably the two best point guards to play the game," said about Magic Johnson and Stockton. "Not a shabby collection to learn from. I grew up watching them and in many ways wanted to emulate them...It wasn't meant to be, and that's all right, there's two guys who had gotten more than me, and they deserve it."

Highlights

L.A. Lakers Phoenix Suns
Kobe Bryant: 31 pts, 7 reb, 9 ast, 2 st
Lamar Odom: 19 pts, 13 reb, 5 ast
Maurice Evans: 11 pts
Smush Parker: 11 pts
Luke Walton: 10 pts, 2 st, 7 TO
A. Stoudemire: 27 pts, 21 reb, 2 bl
Shawn Marion
: 22 pts, 11 reb, 2 st
Steve Nash
: 17 pts, 23 ast, 2 st
Leandro Barbosa
: 16 pts, 3 reb, 2 st
James Jones: 11 pts, 3 reb

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