Despite Kobe Bryant’s team-leading 20pts, the Lakers lost to the Phoenix Suns 114-108 at home Tuesday night. As usual, the Lakers got off to a sluggish start and let the Suns take the early lead. Goran Dragic led the Suns with 31pts, 2reb, and 5ast, while Marcus Morris dropped in 22pts. Eric Bledsoe, the former Los Angeles Clipper, also chipped in 18pts, 4reb, and 9ast. The two Suns’ guards dominated the game and had their way all night against a porous Lakers defense. Gasol added 19pts, 5reb, and 3ast for the Lakers.
Although, Kobe Bryant looked much better tonight than in his season debut just two days ago against the Raptors. Kobe logged 29 minutes, shot 6-11 from the field and 8-8 from the line, and added 2reb and 3ast. Against the Raptors, Bryant had 8 turnovers, whereas, against the suns he totaled only 2 turnovers. Bryant’s first score of the game came on a one-handed slam dunk off a baseline drive past P.J. Tucker. Although his explosion is far from where it was, the dunk proved Kobe is well on his way to his normal ‘mamba’ self. Some signs of encouragement from Kobe’s performance tonight were his minutes played (about 29 both games), his decreased turnover number (from 9 to 2), and his takeover mode in the 4th quarter.
It is quite odd that the Lakers, even with Kobe, have lost to two subpar NBA teams in the Rudy Gay-less Toronto Raptors and the Phoenix Suns (after all, they are Kobe’s first two games back after 240 days away from the court). The Lakers are still searching for that ‘identity’ they lacked last year under coach Mike Brown, and now with their superstar back, it looks as if they may have to start anew. The Lakers will head on the road for their next 4 contests highlighted by a visit to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder as well as the Memphis Grizzlies. These 4 games should tell a great deal about the Lakers’ success on the road the rest of the season. Stay tuned!
