Phil Retired
Joined: 03 Aug 2001 Posts: 10007
|
Posted: Sun Apr 23, 2006 6:08 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Suns quiet Kobe Bryant, Lakers in Game 1
BOB BAUM
Associated Press
PHOENIX - Kobe Bryant didn't score, the Phoenix Suns couldn't run. Nothing was quite as it was supposed to be when the Suns escaped with a 107-102 victory over Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.
Tim Thomas had 22 points and a career playoff-high 15 rebounds for the Suns, who nearly succumbed to coach Phil Jackson's game plan of going inside against the small Phoenix lineup, then turning to Bryant to finish it off.
"We certainly didn't play very well," the Suns' Steve Nash said. "We look at that as a positive. We didn't play well and we found a way to win, and we've got a lot of improvement to make."
Thomas, sent home by the Chicago Bulls for what they thought was a bad attitude for most of this season, then released and signed by Phoenix on March 3, made his first eight shots and finished 8-for-10, 4-for-5 from 3-point range.
"I was just aggressive on both ends," Thomas said.
Nash had 20 points, including a crucial 3-pointer with 1:07 to play, and 10 assists.
The Suns made 32 of 35 free throws, 8-for-8 by Nash.
"The Phoenix Suns set a record for fewest free throws in the league," Jackson said, "and here they have 35 free throws. This is a team we told our guys not to foul, and we end up sending them to the line 35 times. That was one of the things we didn't expect to happen." |
|