AssociatedPress LOS ANGELES -- The Phoenix Suns did everything but beat the Los Angeles Lakers. Despite outscoring the Lakers 31-23 in the fourth quarter, the Suns lost 97-96 Wednesday night and trail 2-0 in the best-of-seven series. "We were right there," said Jason Kidd, who scored 13 points playing on three days rest that helped his injured left ankle. "What you want is a chance to win the ballgame. In Game 1, we didn't have a chance. Tonight we did." Kidd got a hand in Kobe Bryant's face and help from teammate Rodney Rogers, but Bryant sank a 14-footer with 2.6 seconds left to win the game. "Jason played very well," Phoenix coach Scott Skiles said. "He had a nice floor game and played great defense on Kobe's last shot. Kobe made a hell of a shot. He double-pumped and just made a big-time play." Penny Hardaway took the Suns' last shot, but it was blocked by Shaquille O'Neal with one-tenth of a second remaining. With 1:05 remaining, Cliff Robinson stole the ball from Glen Rice and was fouled in the process. He hit both free throws to tie the game at 94. Hardaway scored on a fast-break layup to give the Suns a 96-94 lead with 46 seconds left. He then fouled Bryant, who made the first free throw and missed the second. But Hardaway had his next shot blocked by O'Neal, Bryant hit the game-winner and then O'Neal blocked Hardaway's final attempt. "I thought I got hit by Shaq right before Kobe hit the shot," Hardaway said. "He made a tough shot -- a double-clutch shot on the way down with two seconds left on the clock. That's something you want him to take. "We missed a great opportunity, but we just have to go back to the drawing board. We gained a ton of confidence." O'Neal finished with 38 points and 20 rebounds. The Suns were only able to draw him into two fouls, while Luc Longley fouled out guarding O'Neal. Rogers also was hampered by four fouls. Skiles found nothing wrong with the way his team played O'Neal. "We fouled him when we thought it was necessary," he said. "I felt like we did an all-around good job on Shaq." Games 3 and 4 are in Phoenix, beginning Friday. The Suns left Los Angeles with the knowledge that they almost won where the Lakers rarely are challenged. "We know we're capable of beating that team," Robinson said. "We did what we needed to do to give ourselves a chance to win and we just came up a little short. We definitely let them know that we're not going to give up." |
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