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• LOS ANGELES -- Kobe Bryant scored 18 of his 36 points in the third quarter, Andrew Bynum had 17 points and 14 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers handed the Phoenix Suns their fourth straight loss, 111-99 on Friday night. Manning Jersey . It was only the fourth time in 30 games this season that the Lakers reached the 100-point mark. Pau Gasol had 13 rebounds and 10 points, and Matt Barnes added 17 points off the bench along with seven boards in 25 minutes. Bryant had nine rebounds and six assists. Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping attended the game, capping a four-day visit to the U.S. He entered the arena on a red carpet during the second quarter and observed the proceedings from the second tier of luxury suites above the official scorers table and the players benches. Bryant scored at least 40 in each of his previous two games against Phoenix, including a 48-point effort in the Lakers 99-83 win on Jan. 10 at Staples Center -- his highest-scoring game in the NBA when not making a three-point shot. Centre Marcin Gortat, the only player to start all 31 games for the Suns, led them with 21 points and 16 rebounds on his 28th birthday. Victorias Steve Nash had 17 assists along with 11 points. The Lakers took an 83-63 lead with an 18-2 run capped by Bryants three-pointer with 3:20 left in the third. Phoenix guard Shannon Brown, who won two championship rings with the Lakers, cut the margin to 87-73 with back-to-back three-pointers in the final 35 seconds of the quarter -- one of them a buzzer-beater. Brown, the last player off Phoenixs bench, played 20 minutes and had 15 points after sitting out six of the previous games due to a coachs decision. He came in averaging 9.0 points and 21.1 minutes in 23 previous games since signing with Phoenix as a free agent on Dec. 11. Phoenix rookie Markieff Morris hit a three-pointer to cut the Lakers lead to 93-83 with 6:47 remaining, less than a minute before Bryant reported back in. Brown cut it to 95-90 on a spectacular slam dunk, grabbing Morris missed jumper above the rim and slamming it down in one motion with 4:30 to play. But Derek Fisher responded with a pull-up jumper, and Bryant followed with a pair of short jumpers to give the Lakers a 101-90 lead with 2:42 left. The Suns got no closer than eight the rest of the way. Three Lakers scored in double digits in the first half, including Barnes, whose 11 points helped them take a 57-48 lead at intermission. Gortat had 14 points and nine rebounds in the half for Phoenix. Coach Mike Browns much-maligned bench outscored the starters 24-21 over the first 20 minutes, as Troy Murphy and Steve Blake hit three-pointers 23 seconds apart to cap an 11-0 run that turned a one-point deficit into a 45-35 lead 5:56 left in the second quarter. Notes: The Suns had 17 turnovers, which the Lakers converted into 21 points. The strangest one came early in the first quarter when Nash had the ball at the top of the key, tried to whip a pass to Jared Dudley in the left corner for a possible three-point shot, and the ball ricocheted off teammate Grant Hills head and out of bounds as Hill darted down the lane. ... The Suns are 8-10 when Nash has double-digits in assists, and 3-7 when he doesnt. They are 0-3 in the games hes missed. ... The Suns are 0-16 when trailing after three quarters. ... Fisher, who was sent home from Thursdays practice because of a sinus infection, extended his consecutive-game playing streak to 525 -- the longest among active players. It was his 403rd straight start, and he finished with 12 points in 25 minutes after missing his first three shots. ... The teams meet again Tuesday night at Phoenix, when the Suns begin a three-game homestand leading up to the all-star break. Knowshon

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  Posted 2013-03-27
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