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Thursday, Dec. 28 9:00pm ET
Lakers cruise to 37-point victory

RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME FLOW

PHOENIX (AP) -- Kobe Bryant made short work of the Phoenix Suns and earned himself a short night on the court.

Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bryant of the Lakers shoots over Paul McPherson on Thursday.
Bryant scored 18 of his game-high 38 points in the third quarter as the Los Angeles Lakers beat Phoenix 115-78 Thursday night, matching the Suns' worst home loss ever.

Bryant, whose scoring average of 30.0 points leads the NBA, was 12-of-19 from the floor and 11-of-11 from the line in only 33 minutes.

"I felt like I could go to any spot on the floor and capitalize on what the defense was doing," said Bryant, who surpassed the 35-point mark for the 11th time this season. "I was in the flow and felt like anything they would do, they couldn't stop me."

Shaquille O'Neal had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers. Ron Harper added 11 for Los Angeles, which won for the sixth time in seven games despite playing without starting forward Horace Grant, who had back spasms.

"We usually have some sort of letdown but we didn't have it tonight," O'Neal said. "That was one of the most complete games we've played all season."

Jason Kidd scored 15 points to lead the Suns, who shot a season-low 30.5 percent from the floor for their fourth loss in six games. Tony Delk and Rodney Rogers had 12 each for Phoenix.

"We didn't make any shots and we definitely didn't stop them," Kidd said. "That's why we got our hat handed to us tonight."

Bryant surpassed his season average on a wild sequence with 7:13 left in third quarter.

He drove the baseline to score a layup as he was fouled by Phoenix center Chris Dudley. After the whistle, Dudley flipped the ball toward the backcourt and was called for his second technical of the game.

Bryant made both the technical and regular free throw to give the Lakers their biggest lead to that point, 67-48.

The game was extremely close until midway through the second period; Los Angeles outscored Phoenix 64-37 over the second and third quarters.

"The Lakers don't have any respect for us," Suns coach Scott Skiles said. "They feel like they can beat us whenever they want to and they do. We have a tendency to play scared against them. A good team like that can smell that and just take it to you."

The teams traded the lead 15 times and were tied on seven other occasions. Rodney Rogers evened the game for the final time, 33-33, with 5:50 left in the first half.

But then Bryant and the Lakers took control. O'Neal started a 7-0 run with a dunk and an assist on a driving dunk by Robert Horry, and Bryant scored nine of the Lakers' final 16 points of the half as Los Angeles opened a 51-40 halftime lead.

"I don't know what was with Phoenix tonight but we came out and played a good second quarter," Lakers coach Phil Jackson. "In the third quarter, they came out and played small ball on us and the result was we just kept pouring it on."

Game notes
The Suns lost 144-107 at home against the Lakers on Oct. 31, 1985. ... Thursday's 37-point margin was Phoenix's worst anywhere since a 151-107 defeat at Seattle on April 2, 1988. ... Dudley and Lakers reserve Stanislav Medvedenko were whistled for a double technical with 38.6 seconds remaining in the first half. ... Mark Madsen made his first career start, in Grant's place, and played the first eight minutes before returning to the bench for the rest of the half. ... The Suns had held 11 straight opponents under 100 points. Los Angeles' 115 points were the most scored against Phoenix this season. ... The Lakers have won 17 of their last 20 against Phoenix.


ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard

LA Lakers Clubhouse

Phoenix Clubhouse


RECAPS
Milwaukee 107
Cleveland 89

Boston 112
New Jersey 111

Orlando 102
Detroit 96

Dallas 105
LA Clippers 96

Minnesota 88
Atlanta 81

Portland 103
Utah 102

Chicago 105
San Antonio 104

Toronto 94
Denver 93

LA Lakers 115
Phoenix 78

Sacramento 91
Charlotte 87

FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT

Kobe Bryant Official Site

Rick Fox Official Site

Mark Madsen Official Site


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