Game Of The Year!?-Lakers Basketball

Bryant scored a season-high 42 points, Artest got five of his 18 points in the final two minutes of the third overtime, and the Lakers outlasted the Suns for a 139-137 victory Tuesday night in an enormously entertaining rematch of last season’s Western Conference finals. “I wish we would have put them away when we should have,� said Odom, who had a season-high 29 points and 16 rebounds while playing over 55 minutes filling in for suspended center Bynum “But we found a way to win, and that’s all that matters. “I’m tired. I want to go home. I’m in the mood for pancakes.� Pau Gasol added 24 points, including two tying free throws after recovering a loose ball with 2.5 seconds left in the second overtime of the Lakers’ 13th victory in 14 games since the All-Star break. From Channing Frye’s clutch 3-pointers and Nash’s relentless playmaking to Bryant’s usual big-game grit, both teams traded improbable last-second heroics in what turned into just the fourth triple-overtime game for the Lakers since they moved to Los Angeles. The Lakers hadn’t hosted a triple-OT game since 1969. The two-time defending NBA champions repeatedly bent, but they never broke - and afterward, Bryant didn’t even acknowledge feeling tired. “We’re the champs,� Bryant said. “We’ve got a lot of mental toughness, and we just keep on fighting. It Frye scored a career-high 32 points and hit three tying free throws with 1.1 seconds left to force double overtime for Phoenix, while Nash had 19 points and 20 assists in the Suns’ fifth loss in seven games. Even worse than losing a 63-minute game, the Suns had to fly home immediately to host Toronto on Wednesday night...Lakers Basketball



“We have resolve. We play hard, and we compete like crazy,� Suns coach Alvin Gentry said. “We were playing a helluva basketball team tonight, a team that’s playing better than anybody in the league right now. They’re 13-1 since the All-Star break. We had a chance to do something special, and we didn’t quite get it done, so obviously it hurts.� Phoenix rallied from an enormous deficit in the second half and another nine-point hole in the final 3 minutes of regulation, forcing OT on Grant Hill’s 3-pointer with 31 seconds left. Bryant and Vince Carter both missed last-second shots. “I was trying to get it to Steve, and somehow the ball made it back to me and I made the shot,� said Hill, who scored 11 points before fouling out. “At that point, we had fought pretty hard to get back in the game. They had a big lead in the second half, and we managed to get it to overtime. As bad as it feels, we just have to regroup and get ready for our game tomorrow.�...Lakers Basketball



Frye, who played 57 minutes, hit three free throws to even the first overtime when Odom intentionally fouled him an instant after his shooting motion began. Frye then added a go-ahead 3-pointer with 52 seconds left in the second OT. Gasol coolly replied with two tying free throws for Los Angeles, and Bryant prevented Hill from taking a last-second shot, forcing triple OT. “We told these guys Phoenix plays great when they come into our building,� Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. “They had some good runs here over the years, but we eventually prevailed.� Bryant hit a 3-pointer with 2:10 left in the third overtime before Artest made a steal and dunked - a rarity for the ground-bound defensive specialist - to put the Lakers up 135-132. Artest then made a fallaway jumper, and after yet another 3-pointer from Frye, Carter missed a jumper that allowed Bryant to finish it off with a floating 11-footer with 14 seconds left instead of running out the clock. “That was crazy, but we were just trying to hang on,� Artest said. “That was like a heavyweight fight, trading punches.�