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Dudley leads Suns past Lakers

Feb 20, 2012 - 4:48 AM Phoenix, AZ (Sports Network) - Jared Dudley led Phoenix with a season-high 25 points as the Suns salvaged the second game of a home-and-home with the Lakers, winning 102-90 at US Airways Center on Sunday.

"I think offensively we were really efficient and we did a good job of executing," said Suns head coach Alvin Gentry. "It was just a really good win for us and we desperately need a good solid win at home against a good team."

Marcin Gortat had a double-double with 21 points and 15 rebounds, and Steve Nash added 14 assists for the Suns, who avenged a 111-99 loss on Friday night in Los Angeles.

Kobe Bryant paced the Lakers with 32 points, but turned the ball over 10 times as Los Angeles had its three-game winning streak snapped. Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol each contributed double-doubles as Bynum scored 16 and pulled down 10 boards, while Gasol had 17 points and 12 rebounds.

"It's disappointing whenever you lose, whenever you're down 27 points and you have to try to climb up that hill," said Bryant about his team's early struggles. "We did a good job in the second half but it was just too deep of a hole."

Grant Hill knocked down a triple to give the Suns a 22-12 lead with just under four minutes to play in the quarter.

Phoenix scored a season-high 35 points in the first quarter to take a 35-19 lead heading into the second.

The lead ballooned as high as 20 when Markieff Morris hit two free throws to make it a 47-27 game, but the Lakers answered with an 8-2 run to close the gap to 49-35.

A Channing Frye triple would press the lead as high as 25 late in the second as the Suns took a commanding 63-40 lead into the locker room.

Trailing 78-52 in the third, the Lakers ripped off a 15-4 run over the final five minutes of the quarter to cut the deficit to a manageable 15 at 82-67.

With his team down 14, Bryant came up with a big offensive rebound, kicked it to Troy Murphy in the corner, who buried a three to bring the Lakers within 11, the closest they had been since the first half.

The Lakers continued to chip away at the lead, as five straight points from Bryant cut the lead to 94-84 with 2:31 left, but Hill nailed a mid-range jumper with 49.2 seconds left to give the Suns a decisive 98-86 advantage.

Game Notes

The Lakers are now 5-11 on the road...Both teams finish up back-to-backs on Monday as the Lakers host Portland and the Suns welcome the Wizards...Phoenix improved to 6-9 at home...The Suns had 21 fast break points compared to just six for the Lakers.