LOS ANGELES, May 16 -- Continuing their dominance at home, the Los Angeles Lakers put forth the best defensive effort of their storied playoff history Tuesday night in an 87-65 rout of the Phoenix Suns that wrapped up the Western Conference semifinal series in five games. The Lakers will meet Portland in the conference title series beginning Saturday in Los Angeles.
Just as they said they would, the Lakers bounced back with a vengeance from Sunday's 117-98 loss in Phoenix. They held the Suns to an NBA postseason record-low 23 points in the first half and the fourth-lowest point total in playoff history.
"This game is a mystery to me," said Lakers Coach Phil Jackson. "The Suns can get 71 points in Sunday's ballgame in a half and then score 70 in a game. (But) We were aggressive on all the screens. We played hard through the picks. We challenged the ball and made passing difficult."
Kobe Bryant scored 17 points and Shaquille O'Neal added 15 for the Lakers, who were not sharp offensively but didn't have to be. They improved to 6-0 in the postseason at the Staples Center, where their average victory margin has been 18.7 points per game.
"I didn't play that well but my teammates stepped up for me," O'Neal said. "We played good defense and were real active with our hands. We came out and took it to them."
The Lakers reached the Western Conference finals for only the second time since 1991. Many observers feel their battle with Portland is a matchup of the NBA's best two teams and may as well be for the league title.
"We didn't want to think too far ahead but we match up with that team pretty well," O'Neal said. "They have a talented and deep bench and we just have to be ready."
Unfortunately, in their biggest game of the year, the Suns were awful. They shot just 22 percent (8-of-37) from the field in the first half and had three more turnovers than baskets, falling into a 49-23 hole. They averaged a measly one point per minute until midway through the third period and broke the franchise low of 70 overall, set against San Antonio in the first round.
The reason for the loss was no mystery to Suns Coach Scott Skiles.
"We just could not make shots," Skiles said. "We looked at videotape during halftime of our first-half possessions and we were just not able to make shots. We had a bunch of open looks and just did not make them. We lost our composure in the second quarter. We were playing too fast and trying to do too much and we felt like they had a lead and we had to get it back all at once."
The Suns' first half broke the mark of 24 points set by Portland, at Utah, in 1996. The Suns made only 2-of-17 shots as they scored nine points in the second period, matching the second-lowest total ever for a postseason game.
"I think the reason we were so frustrated was because of all the trash-talking they did before the game," said Suns guard Penny Hardaway. "I think they had everybody's adrenaline going and then not to be able to knock down those kind of shots demoralized us."
