Kobe Bryant had 29 points and 10 rebounds, Lamar Odom scored 21 points, and the Los Angeles Lakers held off a late rally to beat the Phoenix Suns 99-93 on Wednesday and square the NBA first-round playoff series 1-1.
Game 3 is tonight in Los Angeles. Steve Nash had 29 points and Raja Bell 23 for the Suns, who shot 43 percent -- 34 percent in the first half.
Los Angeles led by as many as 17 points late in the second quarter and early in the third after Phoenix went nearly eight minutes without a point.
Pistons 109, Bucks 98
At Auburn Hills, Michigan, Tayshaun Prince scored 22 points and Chauncey Billups had 20 to lead Detroit over Milwaukee and take a 2-0 lead in their series.
The two-time defending Eastern Conference champion Pistons had lost three straight Game 2s and four of their last five, dating to the 2004 NBA Finals. Before that stretch, Detroit lost to Milwaukee two years ago in the second game of their first-round series en route to the title.
Bucks star Michael Redd bounced back from an 11-point game with 29, but didn't get much help in the first half as Milwaukee's other starters each scored six or fewer points before halftime. Game 3 is tomorrow in Milwaukee.
Mavericks 94, Grizzlies 79
At Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki scored 31 points and Dallas took a 2-0 lead in its first-round series against Memphis, which has never won a postseason game.
The Grizzlies went 16 straight possessions without a point and 10:47 between baskets over the middle two quarters, taking them out of what had been a close game.
Memphis dropped to 0-10 in its postseason history; that's four more losses than any NBA team has ever had before its first victory. The Grizzlies will head home for Game 3 tomorrow halfway to being swept for the third straight year.
Pau Gasol scored 10 points in the first quarter, but finished with 16. Bobby Jackson scored 12 and Eddie Jones -- who organized a players-only dinner on Monday to try rallying the troops -- scored 11.
Josh Howard scored 17 points and Jason Terry had 16 and nine assists. Erick Dampier wasn't as active as he'd been in the opener, but still managed eight points and six rebounds.
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