By Mike Tulumello, for NBA.com Posted Saturday October 30, 2010 2:10AM
THE FACTS: The new bench rotation of the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers worked as if it was tested and reliable in a 114-106 win over the Phoenix Suns Friday night in Arizona. New reserves Matt Barnes (11 points) and Steve Blake held their own, as did holdover Shannon Brown. The Suns' bench outscored the Lakers' reserves 33-25, but this was a win for the Lakers as the Suns rely heavily on their five-player bench.
The game came 153 days after the teams completed a memorable Western Conference Finals. The Lakers won 4-2, propelling them to the NBA title.
QUOTABLE: "We have guys who can score, pass, make plays. ... We don't have to force it with this team." -- Lakers forward Lamar Odom.
THE STAT: The Suns, one of the great 3-point-shooting teams in history last season, hit a modest 9-for-24 (38 percent) from long range, which offset the fact they held the Lakers to a within-reason 46-43 edge on the boards.
TURNING POINT: The Suns' second unit is generally a strength, as was the case in their win at Utah Thursday. But on Friday, the Lakers had this advantage. The Lakers led only 78-76 with 3:00 left in the third quarter, then cracked the game open after Blake and Barnes replaced Ron Artest and Derek Fisher. For the Suns, Goran Dragic and Jared Dudley replaced Steve Nash and Jason Richardson. The Lakers outscored the Suns 9-3 the rest of the quarter and remained in control.
QUOTABLE II: "I told our guys, 'We're not going to play the Lakers every night. ... If we can play with that kind of effort ... we've got a chance to be pretty good." -- Suns coach Alvin Gentry, pleased with his team's energy after playing in Utah the previous night.
INSIDE THE ARENA: Though the game was called a sellout, Suns' ticket-sellers had seats available in various price categories minutes before tipoff. And there were at least a couple hundred empty seats.
The reason: The bottom price for the Suns' two games vs. the Lakers and their single game vs. the Heat is $85. Last year's bottom price for all games was $15.
NOTABLE: As was the case during the Suns' exhibition season, Hedo Turkoglu sometimes appears lost. Gentry, speaking before tipoff, said, "He's trying so hard to fit with the other guys." What Turkoglu should realize, Gentry said, is that, "This is the most unselfish team he'll ever play on. If he shoots 20 times, nobody will care. If he realizes that, he'll be more aggressive, and he'll be fine."
Turkoglu and Hakim Warrick, the two players trying to replace Amar'e Stoudemire, combined for a modest 11 points on 4-for-9 shooting plus 10 boards.
UP NEXT: For the Lakers, Sunday vs. Warriors, Tuesday vs. Grizzlies, Wednesday @ Sacramento. For the Suns, Wednesday vs. the Spurs, Friday vs. the Grizzles, Sunday, Nov. 7 @ Atlanta.
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