Lakers Sink Suns in Triple Overtime

It’s the 2010 conference finals in the West. The Phoenix Suns are pulling their weight with Amare Stoudemire and Steve Nash pooling in points. First quarter is hopeful for the Suns; they fall behind in the second and third, cash in more points in the fourth, but ultimately not enough.

Suns lose the game 111-103, and the Lakers move forward to face the Boston Celtics, and eventually get their two-peat championship.

Tuesday night’s game must have been a sour repeat for the Suns, who lost by two points (137-139) to the Lakers in triple overtime. The Suns’ Channing Frye contributed 32 points, Marcin Gortat 24 points, and Steve Nash had 19 points, as well as an outstanding 20 assists. On the other side, Kobe Bryant scored a career-high 42 points, and Lamar Odom added 29 points.

As ESPN notes, things seemed pretty dire for the Suns in the third quarter—they were down 89-68. Remarkably, the Suns then went on a 30-10 run, which included six 3-pointers. Again, impressive, but not enough.

So what does this mean for the Suns? Rather disappointing news, as they’re standing 10th in the West and need to be at least 8th to qualify for playoffs.

And what of the Lakers, who at this point are guaranteed a postseason? An exhilarating game, to be sure, though you can bet that Lakers coach Phil Jackson will be thinking about how they let the Suns rip out a 30-10 run.