01.11.2003

LA LAKERS (103) AT PHOENIX (99)
Stats

Kobe Bryant is still working into game 
shape, but he helped the Los Angeles Lakers pick up their first
road win.

In his season debut, Bryant made a pair of tie-breaking free
throws with 66 seconds left and added a key defensive play in
the final seconds as the Lakers held on for a 103-99 victory
over the Phoenix Suns.

It was an eventful offseason for Bryant, who was charged with
rape, had knee surgery and created a controversy by taking
Shaquille O'Neal to task with some pointed comments.  After
missing the season opener due to the knee pain, Bryant was
noticeably passive on offense, deferring to O'Neal, Gary Payton
and Karl Malone.

"He was hesitant," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "I thought he
turned down some shots. He got a little more aggressive as the
game went on."

In crunch time, Bryant was fouled by Penny Hardaway and
converted his free throws for a 99-97 advantage. Shawn Marion
missed a tying jumper for the Suns, but Malone threw away a pass
to give Phoenix another chance.

After nearly turning the ball over, the Suns got it to Joe
Johnson, who drove past O'Neal and went up for a tying jumper.
Bryant leapt to contest it and the shot rimmed out.

"That is winning," Bryant said. "When it comes down to the
stretch, you have to hustle and not give anybody any easy
opportunities or looks at the basket. When you get the free
throws, you've got to knock them down."

Payton and Stephon Marbury traded a pair of free throws before
Bryant left the door open by missing the second of two from the
line with 10 seconds left.  Amare Stoudemire was too strong on a
3-point attempt, Marion missed an ill-advised short follow shot
and Malone sank a clinching free throw with two seconds to go.

"It was a game we felt we should have won," Johnson said. "We
made a couple of mistakes and (they made) some crucial free
throws so that was the ballgame."

Bryant received a mixed reaction from the America West Arena
crowd, which had Lakers and Suns fans among them.  He finished
with 14 points on 4-of-12 shooting and six rebounds and was
booed loudly on his touches in the first quarter.

Bryant drained his first basket of the season with a jumper just
over 5 1/2 minutes into the game for a 16-8 edge.  Bryant took
three shots in the first quarter, adding another jumper.

"I came in expecting the worst and when you expect the worst,
everything usually turns out great," Bryant said. "I heard the
cheers and I really appreciate that. I expected the worst, so to
hear anybody cheer, it felt good.

"It felt great being out there playing and competing. I love
playing so it felt good and get some competition. Playing on the
road, you know how much I play on the road."

O'Neal collected 24 points and 12 rebounds and Malone and Devean
George each notched double-doubles with 18 and 12 for Malone
and 12 and 12 for George.  The Lakers held a commanding 52-38
advantage on the glass.

"A boo is nothing new to Kobe.  It is nothing new to us," O'Neal
said. "That is not going to break him. Nothing is really going
to break him - he is a tough little kid. We had fun today,
looked real good as a team out there."

Phoenix took its only lead at 94-93 on Johnson's 3-pointer with
just over three minutes remaining. Malone answered with a jumper
off a feed from O'Neal and added two free throws with 1:33
left.

Johnson, who finished with 20 points and made 4-of-5 3-pointers,
drained a 3-pointer from the right side for a 97-97 tie with
1:19 to go.

The Lakers led by as many as 15 points in building a 32-19 lead
after one quarter. George scored eight points in the period as
Los Angeles shot 50 percent (13-of-26) in the first 12 minutes.

"Shaq and I, the chemistry on the court is going to be there,
period," Bryant said. "We have played together for eight years
and won three championships together and we know how to do it.
With Gary, it flows really well, and Karl is such a great passer
it is going to take me a minute to get used to how well he
passes the ball."

Derek Fisher added 13 points off the bench for Los Angeles,
which enjoyed a big cushion at the line. The Lakers made
27-of-39 foul shots, while the Suns attempted 15, making them
all.

"A lot of guys may talk about the Hall of Famers, but the guy
who really came up big for them was Derek Fisher," Suns coach
Frank Johnson said. "He was sound defensively and hitting big
shots."

Marbury finished with 26 points and 11 assists and Marion
chipped in 15 points on 6-of-23 shooting.  Hardaway led the
reserves with 15 points for the Suns, who have lost two of their
first three.