Phoenix Suns With Guns Blazing Down Los Angeles Lakers, 121-116

It was a great win for the Phoenix Suns over the Los Angeles Lakers. Any win for Phoenix over the Lakers is a great win. But when it takes a franchise-high, 22 three-point shots, you don't exactly have a recipe for success. It was just one of those games where the guys made shots and the Lakers, for whatever reason, refused to defend the three-point line until it was too late. The vast majority of the Suns threes were wide open attempts.

It is certainly worth celebrating the win, but it doesn't really change much and is not a blueprint for a successful Suns season. The Suns will need to get better on the glass and in the paint to beat good teams. They will need big games from Robin Lopez, who continues to struggle as he continues to recover from last season's back injury. Still, great win and a ton of fun.

The hot shooting for the Suns was led by yet another great performance by Jason Richardson, who led the team with 35 points and eight rebounds and leads the Suns in scoring this season. The team, overall, set a franchise record for three-point shots made with 22-of-40 falling from behind the arc. Richardson had seven, followed by five for Hedo Turkoglu, including a clutch late long ball to seal the victory. The only Suns player not to shoot well from range was Jared Dudley, who went 1-5. The Suns made 22 threes compared to 21 two-point field goals.

Rebounding, on the other hand, was huge problem for Phoenix. The Lakers advantage was 49-32 in total rebounds and 20-10 on the offensive glass. That led to a 25-14 edge in second chance points. Defensively, the Suns weren't able to stop Lamar Odom cutting to the basket or prevent Pau Gasol from scoring in the paint. He finished with a monster 28 points and 17 rebounds. The Suns have no answer for Gasol, but neither does the rest of the league.

Robin Lopez was looking a tad bit more mobile and athletic than he has so far this season, but picked up an early second foul that limited his minutes. When he came back in the game, Jared Dudley fell into the side of his knee, which sent him to the bench for the rest of the night. It was reported that Lopez has a left sprained knee, but it doesn't seem too serious since he was on the bench during the game and moving around.

Instead of bringing in Garret Siler and trying to match the Lakers on the glass and in the paint, Alvin Gentry doubled-down and went even smaller. Channing Frye played a solid  37 minutes (20 points, six rebounds) and Josh Childress even got minutes at the power forward position in a small ball lineup. 

The loss is the second in a row for the Lakers, who are now 8-2 on the season, while the Suns record improves to 5-4 with the win. The Suns return to Phoenix and will face the Denver Nuggets Monday night in a home game against the only other team to beat the defending NBA champions this season.

For more post game reaction, visit Bright Side of the Sun.

Phoenix Suns Face Old Pals Los Angeles Lakers, 7:30 P.M. AZT

(Sports Network) - Coming off their first loss of the season, the two-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers will try to bounce back tonight against the Pacific Division-rival Phoenix Suns at Staples Center.

Los Angeles defeated the Suns in six games during last year's Western Conference Finals and continued the trend with a 114-106 triumph on Oct. 29 this season in the desert. Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol scored 25 and 21 points, respectively, in that one and Lamar Odom ended with 18 points and 17 boards.

The Lakers were aiming for their first 9-0 start since the 1997-98 season, but dropped a 118-112 decision in Denver on Thursday. Carmelo Anthony finished with 32 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Nuggets, while Bryant had 34 points to pace the Lakers, who got 17 points and 20 boards from Gasol and blew a 10- point lead in the fourth quarter. Denver had a 16-0 run to get back into the game and outscored the Lakers, 33-19, in the fourth quarter.

"We didn't stop penetration of guards and post play, drives to the basket and stuff like that," said Bryant, who became the youngest player in NBA history to reach 26,000 points. "We didn't support one another. We didn't do a very good job of that in the fourth quarter, and they got a lot of points in the paint."

After the Lakers host the Suns, they will embark on a three-game road trip against the Bucks, Pistons andTimberwolves. They are 6-0 at home and 2-1 away from the City of Angels this season.

Phoenix will play five of its next six games on the road starting with tonight's tilt in Hollywood. After hosting Denver on Monday, the Suns will hit the road for four games against the Heat, Magic, Bobcats and Rockets.

The Suns have won three of their last four games and are coming off Friday's 103-89 victory versus Sacramento in which Steve Nash finished with a season- high 28 points, 14 assists and seven rebounds. Hakim Warrickscored 18 points off the bench for the Suns, who recorded their 10th straight home win over the Kings. Warrick was appreciative of Nash's unselfish play afterwards.

"It's like having that big brother out there, just making everything easy for you," Warrick said of the two-time league MVP. "All you've got to do is just go out there and finish."

Nash has ripped off three straight double-doubles. He is reportedly dealing with a divorce just after the birth of his third child.

Jason Richardson had 14 points and eight boards in a winning cause. Phoenix is both 2-2 on the road and as the host this season, and 19-0 at home since the start of the 2007-08 season against divisional opponents, excluding the Lakers.

Los Angeles won three of four meetings with Phoenix last season and is 10-3 in the past 13 matchups between the division foes.

Phoenix has lost four straight and 16 of its last 22 games at the Lakers.