Kobe Bryant tallied 32 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and two steals; but the Los Angeles Lakers didn't have enough in the tank to overcome the Phoenix Suns at the US Airways Center and lost 102-90. This ended a three game winning streak for the Lakers, who fall to 5-11 on the road this season.
This was the Suns' first victory over the Lakers in five tries.
Bryant tried to put the team on his back yet again, scoring twenty points in the second half. However, he may have been trying a bit too hard this time going 1-8 from behind the three point arc. The Lakers (18-13) only had two other players in double digit scoring.
Kobe was 11-24 from the field and 9-12 from the free throw line, but he got little help from the rest of his team. Andrew Bynum had 16 and Paul Gasol 17, but then there's a long drop off till Troy Murphy with 8 points off the bench. Gasol did extend his double double streak with 12 rebounds.
Jared Dudley lead the Phoenix Suns with 25 points, but the player of the game may have been Marcin Gortat with 21 points and 15 rebounds. That's the sort of paint presence that can mess up a team's rhythm.
It was certainly an off balance night for the Lakers. Derrick Fisher only took one shot, Meta World Peace took four. Steve Blake played 29 minutes and only took two shots.
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