Basketball Betting

Stoudemire carries Suns back in West finals

Basketball Betting Lines

05/24/2010 - Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Amare Stoudemire erupted for a career playoff- high-tying 42 points to go with 11 rebounds, and the Phoenix Suns climbed back into the Western Conference finals with a 118-109 Game 3 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Suns were abused down in the post in losing the first two games in LA, but Stoudemire's valiant effort, coupled with a 37-of-42 showing from the free throw line, helped Phoenix cut its series deficit to 2-1.

"We came out with great intensity. It was an important game. We had to get this one and we played well," Stoudemire said. "I was ready. I wanted to attack their bigs a little bit and get them into foul trouble."

Robin Lopez put in 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting, Jason Richardson added 19 points and Steve Nash contributed his usual 17 points and 15 assists for the Suns, who won the fourth quarter, 32-25.

Kobe Bryant finished with 36 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds for Los Angeles, which committed 17 turnovers compared to just seven for Phoenix.

"Some of them were bobbled balls, dribbling with a toe out of bounds. Some of them came from their zone." Bryant said of the giveaways. "We were expecting them to have a breakout game at some point in this series."

Pau Gasol scored 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds, and Derek Fisher netted 18 points for the Lakers, who had their eight-game winning streak broken.

Lamar Odom, after averaging 18 points and 15 rebounds in the first two games in LA, had 10 and six before fouling out.

Game 4 of the series will be in Phoenix on Tuesday.

"We did a good job tonight and now we have to put all of our focus on Tuesday to try to win another game," Gentry said.

Odom sank two free throws 3:13 into the final stanza to give LA its first -- and only -- lead of the second half, 90-89.

Phoenix countered with 11 of the next 13 points, as Stoudemire's 15-footer from the top of the key resulted in a 100-92 game near the midway point.

The Lakers got the next four points via Bryant free throws, the latter two coming with 3:51 remaining.

Stoudemire, who suffered a cut between his eyebrows on a hard foul from Fisher late in the third quarter, answered with a driving layup through traffic, and Odom, after missing an open three, fouled out with 3:16 on the clock.

Lopez's subsequent free throws made it 104-96, and Nash followed with a deep jumper for a 10-point game.

The closest the Lakers got from there was six, 108-102, following a Ron Artest three-pointer with 1 1/2 minutes left. Stoudemire's quick bucket and an Artest miss on the next possession essentially sealed Phoenix's pivotal victory.

"They attacked the rim and got 42 foul shots. That appeared to be their game plan," said Lakers head coach Phil Jackson, whose teams are a perfect 35-0 when taking a 2-0 series lead. "We didn't start out the way I wanted and we didn't finish the right way."

An evenly-played first quarter ended with the Lakers, led by Bryant's 15 points, holding a 32-29 advantage.

The Suns went through a cold stretch early in the second and trailed 45-39 following a Bryant fadeaway with under five minutes left.

But a Stoudemire dunk off his own miss ignited a 15-2 stretch to end the half, as a pair of free throws by Grant Hill and Lopez in the final minute put Phoenix on top, 54-47.

The Suns led at halftime thanks to 18-of-20 shooting from the foul line, compared to an 0-for-3 effort by LA.

Phoenix never gave up the lead in the third despite holding no more than a two-possession cushion most of the way. Two late Leandro Barbosa free throws gave the hosts a slim 86-84 edge with 12 minutes to play.

Game Notes

The Lakers won the rebounding battle by a tight 41-40 margin...The Suns, who improved to 5-1 at US Airways Arena in these playoffs, tallied 18 fast-break points to just three for the Lakers...Artest finished with 12 points on 4-of-13 shooting...Hill grabbed nine rebounds to go with five points...Phoenix's Channing Frye had a mere one point on 0-of-7 shooting. He has made just one of his 20 field goal attempts in the series...Both teams shot poorly from three-point land, as LA made 9-of-32 (28.1 percent) and Phoenix connected on 5-of-20 (25 percent)...Andrew Bynum, battling a knee injury, played only 7 1/2 minutes and made his lone field goal attempt...Jackson, Fisher and Lopez were each whistled for technical fouls.