Kobe or not to be

Bryant leads Los Angeles Lakers to a stunning 119-98 away win over the Phoenix Suns

PHOENIX: Kobe Bryant had 16 points and 11 rebounds as the Los Angeles Lakers stunned the Phoenix Suns 119-98 on Friday. 

Vladimir Radmanovic added 19 points as the often-criticised Lakers shot 56.5 per cent from the floor in routing the defending Pacific Division champions.

Los Angeles (1-1) roared to a 33-20 first-quarter lead and boosted their advantage to 95-67 in the third quarter. The spread went to 33 points, 109-76, on Andrew Bynum’s dunk with 6:10 remaining in the game.

“We need wins like this to kind of get it to another notch,” Bryant told reporters.

“We have to win like this, where we kind of gut it out, play hard and have a big win on the road. It shows that we have a lot of will.”

The Los Angeles reserves scored 67 points as the home crowd booed the Suns, who had won 12 of the previous 13 meetings with the Lakers in Phoenix.

Asked if he was shocked by the win, Lakers coach Phil Jackson said: “I don’t like the word you use.

‘’Remarkable’’ is a good word to use if you want to change your wording a little bit. It was a remarkable thing to have happen, especially when you look at scheduling.
You don’t expect something like this to happen.” Leandro Barbosa led the Suns (1-1) with 23 points.

Steve Nash scored 19 points but had only three assists and made five turnovers. 
LeBron James hit 13 of 28 shots and scored 45 points in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 110-106 home victory over the New York Knicks.

Kevin Garnett had 22 points and 20 rebounds and Paul Pierce contributed 28 points as the new-look Boston Celtics roared to a 103-83 home win over the Washington
Wizards in their season opener.

Ray Allen, who like Garnett joined the Celtics in the offseason, added 17 points. Gilbert Arenas had 21 for Washington. 

Tim Duncan and Tony Parker scored 15 points each to help the San Antonio Spurs win their third game in a row, beating the Sacramento Kings 96-80.

Carmelo Anthony scored 33 points and Allen Iverson 24 in the Denver Nuggets’ 99-91 road win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Marcus Camby had 21 rebounds, 14 points and six blocked shots for the Nuggets. Rashad McCants scored 23 points for the Timberwolves.

Joe Johnson scored 28 points in the Atlanta Hawks’ first season-opening victory in nine years. The Hawks beat the Dallas Mavericks 101-94.

Dirk Nowitzki had 28 points for the Mavericks. The Detroit Pistons beat the Orlando Magic for the ninth consecutive time over two seasons,taking a 116-92 road win behind Chauncey Billups’s 18 points.