The Phoenix Suns finally rid themselves of the methodical style of play of the Portland Trailblazers and took charge of the tempo in game 2. The Suns played fast and they played on the break. Jason Richardson scored 29 points, Grant Hill made 10-of-11 for 20, and the Suns routed the Blazers 119-90 Tuesday night to emphatically tie the first-round playoff series 1-1. When the capricious Richardson has a night like this, his team almost always wins. Phoenix was 27-4 this season when he scored at least 20 points. Richardson finally got to concentrate on scoring after being freed from the chore of guarding Andre Miller. Coach Alvin Gentry turned to the 37-year-old Hill for that assignment, and Miller managed just 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting after getting 31 in Portland's 105-100 victory in Game 1.
Amare Stoudemire added 18 points for Phoenix and Steve Nash pushed the team from the start and finished with 13 points and 16 assists. Martell Webster led the Blazers with 16 points and Nicolas Batum also scored 12 before leaving with a right shoulder strain at the end of the third quarter. He said he was going to have an MRI on Wednesday but didn't think the injury would keep him out of Thursday's game. The injury-ravaged Blazers already are without leading scorer Brandon Roy for the series.
Roy or no Roy though, no team was better than Portland all season in disrupting the Suns' offense. But the Blazers didn't do it this time. Phoenix shot 52 percent to the Trail Blazers' 38 percent. The Suns led by 14 at the half and blew it open in the third quarter. The Blazers had won three of four meetings this season, counting their Game 1 victory that gave them home-court advantage, and didn't allow more than 102 points in any of them. However, the Blazers failed to slow down the NBA's highest-scoring team in this one. The Suns dominated the points in the paint 58-38 and had a 26-12 advantage in second-chance points. Portland trailed 63-49 at the half, and any hopes for a comeback vanished in the Suns' blistering third quarter. The Suns outscored Portland 13-4 to lead 78-58 with six minutes to go in the 3rd. During the run, Nash provided the highlight of the night with a circus shot. The 36-year-old playmaker drove to the hoop and, with his back to the basket, banked the ball in with his left hand. Portland went nearly five minutes without a field goal while the Suns poured it on.
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Kobe Bryant scored 39 points, carrying the Lakers in the fourth quarter when they lost the lead three times, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 95-92 on Tuesday night to take a 2-0 lead in a Western Conference playoff series. Bryant was 13 of 15 from the free throw line, but just 12 of 28 from the floor in front of his dad Joe "Jellybean" Bryant, who sat next to the Lakers' bench. Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 32 points and Russell Westbrook added 19, making all eight of his free throws. Pau Gasol had 25 points and 12 rebounds, and Andrew Bynum had six points and 10 boards for the defending champions, who failed to sustain a strong start for the second straight game against the Thunder. The series now shifts to Oklahoma City for game 3. History is on the Lakers' side as they are 39-1 all-time when winning the first two games of a best-of-seven series.
The Thunder had the lead 47-45 going into halftime, despite Westbrook picking up his third foul midway through the 2nd quarter. The Lakers were limited to 33 percent shooting, with Bryant going 2 of 7. The Thunder also had nine blocked shots in the half. The Lakers regained the edge in the third quarter, although not by much. Their largest lead was six and it dwindled to 73-69 going into the final 12 minutes. Durant was called for goaltending on the Lakers' last basket of the 3rd quarter or the Thunder potentially would've trailed by two.
The Thunder's defense kept them in the game, as they had 17 blocked shots. The Thunder led three times, but Bryant twice brought the Lakers back, the last time tying the game 88-88 on two free throws. The game was decided at the line over the final 2:20, with the Thunder forced to foul while repeatedly missing from the perimeter. Bryant scored 15 points in the fourth, but sent the crowd into an anguished groan when he missed the first of two free throws with 15 seconds left. He made the second to keep the Lakers ahead 94-92. Durant then missed a 3-pointer and Gasol got fouled, but he also missed the first of two with 7 seconds left, keeping the Thunder's hopes alive. Gasol hit the second, and then Jeff Green, who had 12 points, missed a 3-pointer as time expired.
Peace and Much Love To Ya :)
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