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 Boris Diaw scored 19 points, Amare Stoudemire and Raja Bell added 16 each, and Steve Nash had 13 points and a season-high 20 assists for the Suns (27-12), who won for the eighth time in 11 games to move a half-game ahead of the Lakers.
Kobe Bryant scored 30 points, Lamar Odom had 19 points and 19 rebounds to match his career high, and Jordan Farmar added 16 points for the Lakers (26-12), who had their seven-game winning streak snapped. Los Angeles lost for just the fourth time in their last 21 games.
The Suns bounced back from a 40.7 percent shooting performance in a 97-90 loss to the Clippers two nights earlier, shooting 51.9 percent to 37.9 percent for the Lakers, playing their second game since center Andrew Bynum injured his left knee.
With Bryant on the bench, Sasha Vujacic scored the first eight points of the fourth quarter and Odom added a basket to cut Phoenix's lead to 79-71. But that was as close as the Lakers would get until the final minute.
It was 89-80 when Barbosa made a layup and Bell added a 3-pointer, giving the Suns a 14-point lead with 4:44 left. Odom made two free throws with 46 1/2 seconds left to cut Phoenix's lead to 102-96, but a jumper by Diaw as the shot clock ran down clinched the victory.
The absence of Bynum was evident throughout, and the Staples Center crowd expressed its frustration with replacement Kwame Brown early in the third quarter after Brown missed a dunk and committed a turnover, booing him every time he touched the ball.
Brown came out for good after committing his fifth foul with 3:50 left in the third quarter. He had eight points and six rebounds.
The Suns extended their 13-point halftime lead to 66-46 less than five minutes into the third period, and it was 79-61 entering the fourth quarter.
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Barbosa scored six straight points before setting up Stoudemire for a dunk, capping an 18-4 run to start the second quarter that gave Phoenix a 45-28 lead. The Suns led 56-43 at halftime thanks to a 59.5 percent shooting performance to the Lakers' 31.9 percent.
Bryant went scoreless in the second period, missing four shots, after going 4-for-8 and scoring 13 points in the opening period.
Marion scored eight points and Nash added six points and four assists as the Suns, who never trailed, took a 19-8 lead. The Lakers scored the last eight points of the first quarter to cut Phoenix's lead to 27-24.
Notes: Suns F Grant Hill, who underwent an emergency appendectomy Jan. 9, missed his fifth game, and Lakers F Vladimir Radmanovic sat out his eighth with a sprained right ankle. Both might return to action next week. ... The three-time defending division champion Suns had an 18-6 record against the Lakers during the past three seasons including first-round playoff wins each of the past two years. ... Bryant scored at least 40 points for the 87th time in his career at Seattle earlier this week. He ranks fourth on the NBA's career list behind Wilt Chamberlain (271), Michael Jordan (173) and former Lakers star Elgin Baylor (88). ... Bynum expressed both disappointment and optimism in a brief meeting with reporters before the game. "It's serious because I'm going to miss two months," he said. "At the same time, it's not because it's nothing that's going to affect my future."
[Associated Press; By JOHN NADEL]
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
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