LAst Night's Action: Lakers Dominate Suns in Pacific Division Clash

LA Lakers defeat Phoenix Suns 121-102. With both teams having only one loss in the Western Conference, this was supposed to be a very good game, but the Lakers decided to make it a laugher. With the Lakers leading 65-55 in the third quarter, they went on a 15-0 run to quash any hope for the Suns in making this a close game. Andrew Bynum in his first game back from sitting two games out with a bad elbow scored 26 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. Kobe Bryant added 29 points. Josh Powell and Shannon Brown came off the bench impressively with Powell scoring 14 points in 19 minutes and Brown scoring 10 points in 15 minutes. Also their 78 points in the paint is the most since March 2000.However the Lakers 38.9% free throw shooting and 15 turnovers are causes for concern. With this victory head coach Phil Jackson is now 1,048-436 tying Larry Brown for fifth in NBA victories.

Notable Notes

• Congratulations to center fielder Matt Kemp and right fielder Andre Ethier for winning the Silver Slugger awards for their respective position in the National League. Kemp joined Ryan Zimmerman of the Washington Nationals as the only Gold Glove winners to also win a Silver Slugger and is only the third Dodger to win both awards behind Dusty Baker in 1981 and Russell Martin in 2007. Both players are eligible for arbitration and should wind up with a big payday.
• Morongo Casino superhero and former USC Trojans men’s basketball head coach Tim Floyd was named assistant coach to the New Orleans Hornets after their head coach Byron Scott was fired. Hornets general manager Jeff Bower will be Scott’s replacement. The Hornets are a disappointing 3-6 to start the season. While it was expected that the Hornets have not been happy with Scott, the timing of his firing came as a bit of surprise. Floyd was previously head coach of the Hornets from 2003 to 2004 and was replaced by Scott. Circle of life, right?
• And here’s something for your amusement after the jump: