PHOENIX (AP) -Leandro Barbosa scored 19 points in the second half to spark Phoenix’s comeback and Kobe Bryant went from awesome to awful.
The result for the Suns was a 95-87 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in their first-round playoff opener on Sunday.
Barbosa finished with 26 points, including 15 consecutive for Phoenix in one stretch, to match his career playoff scoring high. Amare Stoudemire, back in the postseason after missing last year’s while recovering from two knee surgeries, added 23 points and 12 rebounds.
Bryant scored 39, but only 11 in the second half. The NBA’s scoring champ was 1-for-10 shooting in the fourth quarter, when Phoenix pulled away.
Steve Nash had 20 points and 10 assists and Shawn Marion 16 points and 16 rebounds for a Phoenix team struggled mightily until Barbosa provide a spark, highlighted by a 31-footer at the third-quarter buzzer that cut the Lakers’ lead to 77-74 entering the fourth.
Lamar Odom had 17 points and 16 rebounds for Los Angeles.
Cavaliers 97, Wizards 82
CLEVELAND (AP) – LeBron James stayed in the game despite a sprained ankle and scored 23 points, Larry Hughes added 27 and Cleveland beat injury-depleted Washington in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference series.
James rolled his left ankle in the third quarter but refused to come out, adding nine rebounds and seven assists in 44 minutes.
The Cavs figured to blow through their second straight first-round matchup with the Wizards, who were missing All-Stars Gilbert Arenas (knee surgery) and Caron Butler (broken hand).
However, Antawn Jamison scored 28 points and Jarvis Hayes 18 for Washington, which was still within 10 points with more than seven minutes remaining.
The Cavs moved their offensive attack inside and 7-foot-3 center Zydrunas Ilgaukas scored seven straight points to help Cleveland push its lead to 89-74 with five minutes left.
Ilgauskas, who was bothered by a sore ankle when the Cavs beat the Wizards in a tight six-game series a year ago, scored 11 of his 16 points in the fourth.
James appeared as if his second postseason as a pro might be in jeopardy when he crumpled to the floor with 8:03 left in the third.
On a drive to the basket, James rose for floater from about 10 feet. At about the same time the ball went in, James came down on Etan Thomas’ right foot, twisting his ankle. The injury looked severe and James spent nearly a minute on the floor staring at the ceiling. James popped up, though, and walked to the bench with hardly a limp.
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