The Phoenix Suns could not miss at home during their opener as Kobe Bryant and the Lakers came into town and it was all Kobe for LA, but it wasnt enough has the Suns beat the Lakers 119-99 in a blowout.
The Lakers were dismantled for the second night in a row, losing their home opener to Houston 108-90 on Tuesday night, losing first-round draft pick Julius Randle for the season with a broken leg in the process.
Isaiah Thomas scored 23 points with 3 assists in his Phoenix debut, coming over from the Sacramento Kings. Marcus Morris matched his career high with five three-pointers drained, scored 21 points, Twin brother Markieff added 12 and the Suns dominated the night even with Kobe Bryant dropping 31 points with 4 rebounds and 3 assists.
Goran Dragic scored 12 of his 18 points in the third quarter, when the Suns outscored the Lakers 39-24 and led by as many as 29. Dragic also had 5 rebounds and 2 assists. Eric Bledsoe for the Suns had 16 points and 9 assists and was on pace for a great game before he drew his second technical foul and was ejected with 30 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Bledsoe’s second tech came after he collided with Bryant going for a rebound. Bledsoe was bleeding from his face as he left the court. The first ejection of this young NBA season.
Bryant shot 11 of 25 from the field and didn’t play in the fourth quarter. The early season bright spot for LA, Ed Davis, scored 14 points and grabbed 9 rebounds and Wayne Ellington had 13 for Los Angeles. The Lakers trailed by only 6, 61-55, after Jordan Hill’s two free throws with under 12 minutes left in the third quarter. Then it was the Goran Dragic show and he led the Suns on a 34-11 outburst and before you knew it Phoenix was up 95-66 after Marcus Morris’ 3-pointer with a little over two minutes left in the fourth. The ever exciting Phoenix team made 16 3-pointers in total for the night, one off of their high of last season.
Highlights from ESPN.com
