Leandro Barbosa poured in 26 points off the bench and Amare Stoudemire scored 23 and pulled down 12 rebounds as the Phoenix Suns defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in game one of their first-round playoff matchup, 95-87.
The Suns came out of the gates a bit sluggish in this one, with the Lakers building their lead to as much as 12 in the first half. Kobe Bryant racked up 28 first-half points and rattled in a three-pointer with one second remaining in the half, and Los Angeles went into halftime with a 48-39 advantage.
Both squads came out firing on all cylinders to start the third quarter. That's when Barbosa took over. He continuously drove the lane and put in lay-up after lay-up as Jordan Farmar and Smush Parker helplessly tried to guard the "Brazilian Blur." Barbosa then buried a three at the buzzer to end the third quarter, bringing Phoenix to within three, 77-74. He tallied 19 points in the second half.
Bryant, who shot 11-for-17 in the first half, went only 4-of-16 in the final 24 minutes, including a spell where he missed nine in a row and 10 of 11 overall. He shot only 1-of-10 in the fourth quarter, where the Lakers scored only 10 points as a team. Bryant finished with 39.
The Suns out-scored the Lakers 56-39 in the second half and got double-doubles from three different players: Stoudemire, Steve Nash, and Shawn Marion. Nash had 20 points and 10 assists and Marion racked up 16 points and 16 boards.
Phoenix beat Los Angeles in game one of their first-round series last year and would eventually win the series in seven games.
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