Tag Archives: Time

where does this rivalry rank all time

he two rivals met for the first time in the 1970 NBA Playoffs. The Suns blew a 3-1 series lead over the Lakers and lost the series in seven games. The rivals met again ten year later as the Lakers easily dispatched the Suns 4-1. In their next four meetings in 1982, 1984, 1985, and in 1989, the Lakers won all those series in scores of 4-0, 4-2, 3-0, and 4-0. In the Western Conference Semifinals of 1990, the Suns finally got their monkey off as they blazed past the Lakers 4-1 in their run to the Western Conference Finals.

The rivals didn’t meet until the 1993 season in which Phoenix won 62 games and were the first seed in the Western Conference. However, the Lakers took the first two games in the then called America West Arena, (now US Airways Center) until then Suns coach Paul Westphal guaranteed that the Suns will comeback and win the series. Phoenix then took the two games in the Great Western Forum (the Laker’s home court). In the deciding Game Five, Los Angeles had a chance to win the game and the series, but they didn’t as Phoenix won Game Five and escaped a tough series. Phoenix eventually made the NBA Finals losing to the Chicago Bulls. The teams didn’t meet again until the 2000 NBA Playoffs, in which the Lakers rolled over the Suns, led by Jason Kidd and Anfernee Hardaway, 4-1 in their route to the NBA title.

They met again in the 1st round of the 2006 NBA Playoffs. The Suns were the second seeded team in the Western Conference and Pacific Division winner, thanks in part to back-to-back NBA MVP Steve Nash and Shawn Marion, and improvements by Leandro Barbosa and Boris Diaw, beneficiaries of the Sun’s “run-n-gun” style of offense. Leading the seventh seeded Lakers was the scoring champion, Kobe Bryant, and head coach Phil Jackson, who led their teams to the playoffs despite missing it the year before. Phoenix won Game One at the US Airways Center, but lost Games Two, Three, and Four. Game Four ended in dramatic fashion as Bryant hit the game-tying layup to send the game into overtime. Before Kobe’s game-tying basket, two Lakers cornered Steve Nash at the sideline, forcing a turnover. Given the physical defense, the absence of a call was somewhat controversial to Suns fans. Conversely, many players and pundits commonly recognize in the waning moments of the game, officials will force players to win the game rather than protect them. The turnover allowed Bryant to tie the game and force the extra period. In the final seconds of overtime, a jump ball was won by the Lakers and Bryant was given the ball, allowing him to hit the game-winning shot at the buzzer. Phoenix won Game Five in a game many remembered for Raja Bell’s clothesline on Kobe Bryant. After the game, Raja was suspended for Game Six. The two then continued their rivalry as they exchanged words during practices. In response to the flagrant foul, Bryant, after the game, stated that he “didn’t know the kid.” He then suggested that Bell was not hugged enough during his childhood, in response to Bell’s shots at Bryant’s perceived “arrogance” and “special treatment” from the referees. Game Six was a hard-fought game that went to the final seconds in regular play until Tim Thomas shot the game-tying three pointer to send it overtime, which was later won by the Suns, who forced a Game Seven in the US Airways Center. Game Seven was a blowout win for the Suns, completing a big comeback.

A year later they met again. It looked like the Lakers would win Game 1 behind Kobe Bryant’s 39 points, but Phoenix came back in the second half to win 95-87. Game 2 was a blowout win as the Suns won 126-98. Kobe Bryant only had 15 points on 5-13 shooting. He erupted in Game 3 though as he led the Lakers to a 95-89 victory behind his 45 points. The Suns took Game 4 113-100 behind Nash’s career-high 23 assists. He fell one assist shy of the NBA post season record. The Lakers were down 3-1 like the Suns were a year ago. The Lakers couldn’t pull off an upset as they fell 119-100 losing the series 4 games to 1.