Kobe Bryant scored 17 points in the first quarter, including 13 points in a four-minute span to close the period, leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a 46-42 halftime lead over the Phoenix Suns Tuesday night at Staples Center. Kobe ended the half with 23 points on 9-of-16 shooting.
The Lakers trailed Phoenix 19-10 early thanks to Steve Nash slicing and dicing his way to six points and three assists through the first eight minutes of the game. The problem for the Suns is that they didn't score for the remainder of the period, while the Lakers scored 15 to take the lead, with 13 of those points coming from Bryant.
The Lakers extended their led to 35-23 with nine minutes remaining in the second quarter, meaning they outscored the Suns 25-4 in a seven-minute span. However, in this game of runs the Suns outscored the Lakers 15-2 in just over five minutes to regain the lead. The Lakers ended the half on a 9-4 run to regain the lead.
Metta World Peace scored three points and grabbed seven rebounds in the first half for the Lakers. Channing Frye led Phoenix in the first half with 12 points. Marcin Gortat added eight points and nine rebounds.
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