UNDATED: the playoffs.
Suns 93, Lakers 85
PHOENIX (AP) – Steve Nash had 26 points and 14 assists, and Phoenix sent a weary Kobe Bryant and Los Angeles to their sixth loss in seven games.
Bryant, who played all 48 minutes in Thursday night’s loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, was 7-for-26 from the field for 17 points against Phoenix, far short of his NBA-leading 31.5-point point average. He missed three shots in the final 35 seconds, two of them 3-pointers.
Nash sealed it with four free throws in the last 18.8 seconds.
Amare Stoudemire had 15 points and 16 rebounds, including five points in the final 3:47, to help keep the Suns two games ahead of San Antonio with three to play in the fight for the No. 2 playoff spot in the Western Conference.
This might have been a preview of a first-round playoff matchup, if the Lakers can stop their free fall.
Los Angeles has lost four in a row and eight of 10 to drop to .500 for the first time this season.
Clippers 107, Trail Blazers 89
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Cuttino Mobley had 22 points, six rebounds and seven assists, Elton Brand added 20 points and seven rebounds, and Los Angeles breezed to its ninth win 13 games.
Corey Maggette and Chris Kaman scored 17 points each for the Clippers (39-40), who remained tied with Golden State for the eighth and final playoff berth in the Western Conference with three games remaining.
Both teams moved within a half-game of the Lakers (40-40), who have two left.
END
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