Sure, the Suns were at home, but the Lakers were in clear control of the game. At one point you can hear the Lakers fans more than the Suns fans in their house.
Forward Lamar Odom pulled another disappearing act after two beast-like performances, but we are use to that. Andrew Bynum got in early foul trouble and disappeared as well. The "Black Mamba" did his thing again with 36-11-9. Running mate Pau Gasol had 23 points. D-Fish even had 18 and was three-for-six from behind the arch.
So what happened?
Amare Stoudemire decided to try to make up for the first two games with a 42 point, 11 rebound performance. Steve "Mr. Pick and Roll" Nash was okay with 17 points and 15 assists. Jason Richardson had 19 points as he hit big shots down the stretch. Ron Lopez got himself into the mix with a surprising 20 points. I didn't see that coming from him, but that's not the story.
Phil Jackson got out-coached!
I can hardly believe it.
The Lakers had total control in the first quarter and all but quieted the Phoenix crowd by scoring 32 points and looking unstoppable. Out of ideas, Phoenix head coach Alvin Gentry went to a zone defense and Jackson knew not what to do.
The result was a 15-point second quarter and the Lakers down seven at the half. That was all the home crowd needed to help their team keep things going.
It was Kobe Bryant during a timeout that said, "We can still get the ball inside, we don't have to shoot three's."
The Lakers did eventually figure out how to attack the Phoenix zone, but it was too late. The crowd was already into it and the Lakers couldn't get the stops needed in the fourth quarter.
Sunday night's game showed me that the La...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
