#3 2006 Western Conference Quarterfinals: Phoenix Suns defeat the Los Angles Lakers
The Lakers faced the resurgent Suns who were taking the league by storm with their 7 seconds or less offense. It seemed that the purple and gold, however, had put the nail Mike D’Antoni’s coffin when Kobe Bryant sank a memorable dagger in Game 4 to put the Lakers up 3-1. That though, would prove to be the last high point for the Lakers in this series.
The renaissance man Boris Diaw dropped 25 points in Game 5 to help the Suns pull away. Game 6 went to overtime behind a Tim Thomas three-pointer. The Lakers were never quite able to recover from the game as Suns routed them in Game 7.
This series was infamous for Kobe Bryant adopting a passive role at times and backing off from his trademark aggressiveness. Some speculated that this was a petulant way to shut up the critics who exhorted him to play an unselfish game.
The Suns then went on to defeat the Los Angles Clippers in the Western Conference Semi-Finals in 7 games. However, they fell to the Dirk Nowitzki inspired Dallas Mavericks 4-2 in the Western Conference Finals.
Comeback scorelines:
Game 5: Suns 114, Lakers 97 (At Phoenix)Game 6: Suns 126, Lakers 118 (At Los Angles)Game 7: Suns 121, Lakers 90 (At Phoenix)
