Suns v. Lakers Game Two: Playing With Your Food

I catch the early going with the kids, and wath the Lakers take an early lead as the Phoenix starters, with the exception of Amar'e Stoudemire, can't put it in the ocean, and Steve Nash has multiple turnovers. Channing Frye continues to miss and be useless, and while Kobe Bryant doesn't look like the best player in the world, it's early. It looks like a game without drama in the second, but the Suns's bench manages to make a big time run, with Goran Dragic, Leandro Barbosa and Louis Asmundson combining to cut the lead to 6, the last three coming on an old-school three by Asmundson. Phil Jackson goes to the starters, but Jared Dudley does not care, and his three makes the run 11-0 as the Staples Center gets quiet. They wake up again as Jordan Farmar makes, and Frye is just helpless, so Shannon Brown makes it 8 again. Sigh. But at least the pace is quick enough to make this game winnable for the road team, and unlike Game 1, the Lakers aren't making everything.

Dudley's third three pointer cuts it to five, and he's feeling it. Gasol gets to the line and makes one as Laker Fan boos Stoudemire. The refs then make the worst out of bounds call you can imagine, and we go to commerce with the Lakers up six in a quiet room.

Dudley forces a turnover, and he's just owning this game right now, then gets Stoudemire to the line on a Bynum foul. One make cuts it to five again. Gasol misses, but a Bynum board and putback shows Asmundson his limitations. Stoudemire is rejected at the cup, and Brown's three makes it 10 again, taking the steam out of the bench's heroism. Dragic is crafty in the lane to get to the line, but the Suns are just 7 for 11 from there tonight, which isn't helping. Asmundson with a steal from upcourt pressure, but Dragic wastes the possession trying to draw a 3-shot foul. The Lakers miss on the other end, and Suns coach Alvin Gentry returns Nash and Richardson.

Nash misses, and it's one thing to say he's getting rest, but quite another to say that he's doing anything with his minutes. Bynum gets to the line and makes one to push it back to 10. Nash feeds Stoudemire for a nice little make, but Artest's wide open three is good, and the lead is 11. Stoudemire misses, and the Lakers have an ugly possession that ends with Fisher throwing an alley oop. Woof. Nash gets it back on the other end, and Dudley strips Bryant for a Richardson slam that might be my highlight of the playoff season. Ha ha! The good times don't last as Fisher hits a three, and the Lakers are now 7 for 11 from downtown. Gahhh. Nash finds Lopez for a make and trip to the line, and the Suns are playing reasonably, but the Lakers just aren't missing, and when they aren't missing, they aren't losing.

Lopez completes the three point play to cut it to nine. Kobe misses on Dudley and Co pressure, and the Suns get bailed out on an Artest foul on Lopez. Two makes cuts it to seven as the Sun starters actually make some headway. Bryant scores over Dudley, but Nash answers with a de-pantsing of Fisher. The Laker point gets it back, and the half ends with the Lakers up, 65-56. You can call that bad defense on the Suns if you want, but at some point, you have to pick your poison, and Artest three pointers certainly seem like a better choice than Kobe Evisceration or the high percentage punishment of Gasol.

In the halftime, Charles Barkley continues his lifelong pattern of telling the truth, and calls out Nash and Stoudemire. There, was that so hard?

As the third starts, the Lakers get a steal and Fisher gets to the line Craig Sager relates that Gentry isn't happy with Frye. Shocking! Richardson hits to trade the points, then Gasol gets bailed out of a travel with a Stoudemire foul. Gasol misses the next one, and the Laker half court defense is sound against a Richardson miss. Bryant hits on niftiness, but Richarson's three trims it to eight. The refs blow a call to give the Suns a turnover, and Richardson's 16th point is a curl to the hoop that the Laker bigs sleep on. Coach Philip is disgusted enough to notice and call time, which is more than I can say for the crowd. Six point game.

Out of the timeout, Stoudemire goaltends on Bynum; dumb play by Amar'e. Richardson's heat check three misses, but the Suns keep it. Hill with some niftiness and a floater that hits, but Gasol rolls it in, and Stoudemire's 4th turnover is just careless. Fisher misses, leading to Nash to Hill to stuff; pretty. Bryant in Hero Mode stops the momentum cold. A Nash three misses, but Stoudemire gets a rare board, then goes to the line off pick and roll goodness from the point guard. It'd be helpful if he were more than 1 of 4 from the line, though. Gahhh. Lopez fights for a jump ball, but the tip leads to a Laker fast break and Artest free throws. How you win the tip and give up a fast break, I don't know... and Testy's lone good throw pushes it back to nine Phoenix is just trading here.

The Suns go small and miss with Dudley at the baseline, and Richardson makes another shake three that's just money. So much for Frye; good move by Gentry. Gasol misses, but Odom boards against the lack of trees, not that Frye was doing much there either, and Lamar feeds Gasol for a stuff. Passing from the Laker bigs is just huge. Hill with a tough make over the trees, and this tempo isn't helping a small lineup. Artest with a make, and he's now 6 of 8 and that's just unfortunate. Stoudemire misses twice at the cup on a Kobe block, then a flat dunk miss. Yeesh. Fisher misses the killshot three, and Dudley hits from the corner; the sub is now 4 for 4 from the arc. Odom collects and scores as Richardson whiffs on a steal. Stoudemire dunks over Kobe on a nice feed, and it's five again. Hmm. Gasol to Odom as Suns fall, but the Lakers are whistled for a delay as Odom diddles with it. Nash makes, but Richardson misses a tough drive, then gets a dunk off a Dudley steal. The lead is whittled to four, but only for a second or two, as Gasol goes to the line against the smalls and makes both. It's still trading, but at least trending somewhat to a close game.

Hill with a dribble and make, and for once the Lakers turn it as we go to commerce; it's a four point game with Phoenix having the ball, which is the closes this game has been since the second quarter. Can't say enough about the benefit of getting Frye off the floor, really.

Hill collects a non-shooting foul, then hits from mid-range, and the lead is two. Gasol is stopped by Stoudemire, amazingly, and Hill gets to the lane in transition. The ex-Duke star makes both, and with 1:37 left in the third, we've got a new game. Wow.

Odom to Gasol for an easy one, but Hill answers with a foul line pull-up. Odom can't answer, and Nash boards. Hill can't do it over Gasol, and Kobe gets a friendly roll to take the lead again, but Nash ties it up again at 90. Tension! Kobe ends the third on Dudley with a missed three, and Gasol's board and flop doesn't impress the stripes. We Have A Ballgame, Folks.

Dragic in for Nash to sart thr fourth, but he loses Farmar in the corner for a three, then turns it in the open court. Brutal. Barbosa for Richardson as Farmar over-dribbles and misses. Hill misses, which is troubling, then Kobe finds Gasol at the cup for his 10th assist, and that was too easy. 5-0 run is finished by Dudley's 5th bomb from the arc, and that was huge, at the buzzer. Gasol misses, but the Suns can't get the board, and Dudley gets a cheap one on Kobe on the inbounds. Amundson in for Hill. Dudley avoids contact on Kobe and gets a miss, but Barbosa misses. Kobe feeds Odom at the cup, and you can't double team him; the passing is just killing the road team. Dudley finds Amundson on the move, and he'll go to the line after commerce with the Lakers up 97-93.

Amundson at the line makes two, improbably. Frye in for no good reason. Gasol rolls to the cup for the catch and foul, and that's Dudley's fourth, which is a real problem, given how well he's played. Two makes pushes it back to four. Dudley collects a foul on a trip. Frye forces a three at the buzzer and, of course, misses. Brown goes to the line, because that's what happens on every trip now, I think. Brown hits two and the lead is six. Barbosa is erased and goes down hard, and the guard is bleeding big-time from smashing the back of his head against a camera. No foul on Odom as Barbosa goes to the locker room for stitches. Frye for a catch and brick, but Dudley gets tangles with Brown and wins an Oscar for that flop. Mercifully, that's it for Frye.

Nash with a bad turnover to Stoudemire. Yuck. Farmar's wide open three makes it a nine point game in a hurry, and if it feels like the Lakers are the only team with runs, you'd be right. Farmar's fourth foul is on Nash and a little bailout-ish; another Nash turn is answered by Kobe crossing Hill, and the run is 9-0, the lead is 11, and forget what I said about us having a ballgame. The Lakers just seem to be toying with this team at this point.

Hill's back, just in time to turn it; fourth in the quarter. Just inexcusable. Bryant misses on the baseline, and Hill finishes in transition. Kobe to Gasol, who gets the old-school three for a highlight reel finish, but he misses the throw. Stoudemire for a moving screen, and that's his fourth, and the fifth turn as Fisher flops for the call. Dudley gets his fifth on Kobe's reputation, and after two makes, the lead is 13 and we're seconds away from garbage time. Nash nearly turns it, then Hill hits over Bryant, and not guarding Kobe is agreeing with him. Stoudemire blocks Odom, and Hill hits that dribble drive pull up to cut it to nine. Gasol with yet another easy one, and that's terrible defense by Stoudemire for his fifth foul. Gasol misses the throw, and Stoudemire dunks and is fouled to prevent garbage, plus the make. Eight point game.

Artest with a miss, but Richardson's transition three stays out. Gasol misses, but Odom's all over the board, and that's his ninth and Dudley's sixth foul. A shame, as he's been great tonight, with a 15-5-4 line, but some of the fouls have been foolish. Odom makes both, the lead is 10, and the garbage is coming if the Suns can't hit on every trip and force turnovers, because they aren't getting stops or boards with this lineup.

Nash to Richardson, who is fouled by Gasol. Two makes cuts it to 8. Gasol with the lob and lay up, and you haven't seen bad defense from a big man until you've seen Stoudemire with five fouls. Nash misses the three, and Gasol eats Stoudemire again. One more against the cotton-candy interior defense? Sure, as Odom dunks. The lead is 14, and we can forget about the rest of this one. You'd never know this one was 90-all at one point.

I suspect that the Suns will win a game, because I don't think the Lakers will want to end this on the road, and there has to be a game this post-season where Artest hurts his team, or the Lakers don't shoot the lights out, right? Yeah, I'm dreaming; the Lake Show don't shoot against this team, they dunk. The way this post-season is going, both of the conference finals will be sweeps, and then Celtics-Lakers will go seven, just so fans of both teams can tell me how wonderful it is. There's still time for me to develop a love of horse racing...