7:40 - Pick and roll breakdown leads to LO losing track of Shawn Marion, who gets fed by Nash for the alley oop dunk.  Too easy.  And hopefully not a foreshadow of a play that'll come too frequently to hurt the Lakers.  The Suns can do that in their sleep, so every Phoenician gotta be accounted for.

Oh, for those who just saw Phil's bow tie on the TV and wondered why the hell I didn't make fun of it in my pregame report, he wasn't wearing it while addessing the media.  Otherwise, I think we all know I couldn't and wouldn't have let that one slide.

5:15 - The Lakers come out of the timeout with LO setting up Kobe for an alley of his own and the ensuing possession leads to Bynum working his way into the lane for a jam.  Those scores work it back to a two-point deficit, but Kobe and Drew have a miscommunication of sorts, leading to Kobe passing the ball to Steve Nash (one assumes that wasn't the game plan) and LO picking up a foul trying to keep the Matrix from scoring after running with Nash's pass.  Again, turnovers will make or break this team.

Ice Cube just entered to take his courtside seats.  In related news, it's almost the 20th anniversary of "Straight Outta Compton's" release.  I say this because the artist formerly known as O'Shea Jackson looks at least 45 these days.

2:10 - Ronny Turiaf takes the court to give Drew a breather and quickly gets away with a foul challenging good buddy Boris Diaw's shot.  I'm close enough to that goal to see that there was contact, none of which involved the ball.  But I ain't complaining, especially when the miss was eventually converted into a 21-footer from Kobe.

1:12 - Hill throws down his third dunk of the quarter.  As much as I hate seeing a guy score against the Lakers, it's hard to begrudge too much success from one of the game's good guys, especially when he's a good guy who's struggled for eons to stay healthy.  It's easy to forget just how great Hill was before his ankle became a ticking time bomb.

Ariza's unable to can a buzzer beater, meaning the quarter ends with a 26-25 Suns lead.  Strong effort from Kobe (2 turnovers aside), racking a pair of assists and a steal to go along with his 10 points.  & early points from Drew are also nice, as is the lakers 15-11 advantage on the boards.  Unfortunately, they're also turning the ball over at a 4-1 rate, which will keep them from ever making marked progress.

SECOND QUARTER

A dude behind me yells out a disgusted "GOD!" as LO puts up a trey ball.  Thankfully, it goes down, but I can't say I don't feel this paying customer's pain.  It's never my favorite variety of attempt from LO, especially considering how much he's punished this team inside during past contests.

9:51 - Trevor Ariza brings the house down with a seriously hop-heavy dunk.  He also brings down Hill, who attempted to take the charge but ends up called for the block.  And one goes unconverted, but still, pretty spectacular play.

9:04 - Sasha takes the ball into the paint (always a nice idea, always a serious adventure), winds up in a herd of orange bodies and tosses a layup attempt that's nothing but backboard.  Thankfully, Drew's there for the cleanup, scooping the rock into the net and drawing the and-one opportunity for his troubles.  Timeout Phoenix.  The Laker leads bumped to 6, with Drew's conversion making it a hopefully lucky 7.

8:05 - I couldn't tell for sure if LO actually lost track of Amare or Drew reacted too hastily to cover him.  At any rate, this led to Brian Skinner and his technicolor dream-goatee wide open under the basket and set up easily by Hill. 

6:45 - Bynum puts a hook shot from about 6-8 feet up and over Skinner's head for his 14th point.  The only thing that will prevent him from doing more of that will be a lack of aim.  There's absolutely zilch Skinner can do to prevent that.

4:39 - The previous Suns possession saw Leandro Barbosa run right past Bynum (among others) for an uncontested layup, but Drew more than makes up for it on the other end, throwing down Fish's feed for the dunk and drawing Amare's second foul in the process. 

4:07 - Drew finds himself trapped under the basket between Marion and Amare and unable to pass out.  His attempt to go up gets blocked, which leads to a Hill rebound and a quick pass to Barbosa, who streaks to the rack and picks up a foul on Vlad scoring the rock.  Freebie converted.  The Laker lead is down to 1.

3:08 - Fisher pulls up for the J just inside the arc, pushing the Laker lead back to three.  Unfortunately, there's little, and I do mean "little" time to celebrate, which Drew learns the hard way after getting back a little too casually.  Amare gets ahead of him and receives the lob from Nash. The officials call the time out, but I imagine Phil will still remind Bynum not to do that.

1:09 - Great extra pass from LO (who faked like he was about to go up from around the arc) to a cutting Ariza.  Easy dunk, but keeping the Laker lead at 3 ain't simple by any stretch.  Nash is quickly at the line to make it a one-point affair.  One Suns posession later, Nash squares things up at 62 after hitting from distance, undoing the bump provided by LO's layup.

HALFTIME: We take a break at 62 all.  Three Lakers already in double figures (Kobe, Bynum and a 4 dime/0 turnover D.Fish).  LO and Ariza are paced to make it an "all five starters with dual digits" affair, but the Lakers need to make sure they're never relaxing or letting up.  Too many Suns baskets coming from simply not get back quickly enough.  The Lakers are holding Phoenix under 50%, an achievement that falls to the wayside if they allow too many easy ones.  We'll see how the third goes.  Back in a bit.

THIRD QUARTER

10:16 - 17-footer by Kobe, from a set up and angle almost no other player in the NBA can hit.  When  Kobe's got that turnaround going, that sucker is basically impossible to defend.  It's absolutely ridiculous. 

9:40 - A lot of strong Laker effort goes into Kobe's four-footer.  Bynum cleaning up Ariza's miss from deep outside.  LO giving it a run, then Kobe snagging the loose ball after Amare blocks #7.

7:47 - The Lakers have enough guys taking ill-advised three ball shots.  They don't need Trevor Ariza following suit.  For that matter, as much as I've enjoyed Ariza's game and production today, he's jacked up a few too many long ones for my taste.  More about that later, but in a nutshell, keep slashing, Trev!

5:51 - Huge sequence for the Lakers.  After LO throws down a dime from Kobe, Fish steals Amare's advance attempt, shuttling it to Bynum, who draws a charge on his fellow "no college" wunderkind.   Fourth foul on Amare.  He's been a non-factor during this game as it is, but his time on the pine needs to be exploited.

2:34 -  Laker sloppiness is keeping Phoenix closer than need be.  And by "closer," I mean, "able to regain a lead off Nash's triple." Whether a Sasha foul 50-feet from the Phoenix hoop or turnovers (five and hopefully not counting this quarter, four alone from Kobe), the Lakers are proving much more of their own enemy than their actual enemies.

2:23 - Raja Bell banks in a triple, giving the Suns a two-point lead.

1:03 - Jordan Farmar and Drew run a two-man game, with Drew setting his point guard's screen and shuttling him the ball, providing him enough space to hit from inside the arc.

33.3 - They say good things come in three's.  Certainly, Kobe's three-ball would qualify, as it just happens to give his team a three point lead.  As Hannibel would say in every episode of "The A-Team," "I love it when a plan comes together."  Big ups for symmetry.

3.4 - This just in: Kobe Bryant can dunk.  Just ask Boris Diaw, who had the distinct displeasure of watching the Mamba turn on jets, then twist around him to stuff an absurd reverse jam.  The crowd, shockingly enough, went somewhat bananas.

The frame ends up with a 92-89 Laker lead.  Carelessness with the rock and an inability to guard the arc (Phoenix went 5-7 from distance) were the biggest Acchilless for the purple and gold.  All in all, they've upped their FG% while lowering Phoenix's and continue beating them on the boards.  The ingredients for a win are in the making.  Buckle up for a tight fourth.

FOURTH QUARTER

10:39 - A very balanced game for Kobe continues.  He collects dime numero six by setting up Drew for a running layup.  That bucket makes it 22 for the kid, who's likely to establish a new career high after setting a previous best (24) just four days in Philly.

7:46 - Another twisting mid-range turnaround from Kobe.  If it weren't so freakin' spectacular, his proclivity for this particular shot could turn it ho-hum.

5:20 - Bynum tips in LO's miss, pushing his new career high to "26 with the day five minutes young."  Unfortunately, he quickly picks up a fourth foul, leaving Phil a potential dcision during the timeout.  The decision would be to continue with what's working, which is Drew on the floor.

4:39 - Kobe drives the lane, pulls up from the top of the key, then cans it to create an eight point cushion.  On the other end, Odom snatches Nash's pass inside, creating one of them scenarios where Kobe ends up at the line sinking a pair.  Nothing we ain't seen before.

3:10 - A very ticky tack foul on Kobe sends Bell to the line for a trio of freebies.  Only two of three go down, cutting the Laker lead to 7.

46.6 - LO wisely concededs Marion the dunk from Hill.  The Lakers proceed to dribble things down, but a little too much dribbling leads to a traveling call on Ariza.  D'Antoni calls what could be construed as an "F.U. time out."  Remember him and Phil's little final frame action during game 1 of this series?

Marion cans a jumper in the final seconds, but it's too deep into the game to be anymore than a chicken wing on a string.  The Lakers rack a seriously big 122-115 win over the Suns.  Now up 2-0 on the season, this is a big-time statement against a team both rival and a nemesis.  More to come in a bit, but thanks for dropping by.  Not that anybody needs my help or wishes right now, but have a merry Christmas, everybody.

-AK