Lakers stumble down the stretch

Denver's dynamic duo keyed an opening upset against the Spurs.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
PHOENIX -- The "Brazilian Blur" breathed life into the Phoenix offense, and Kobe Bryant went from awesome to awful.
The result was a second-half rally that gave the Suns a 95-87 victory in their first-round playoff opener.
Leandro Barbosa scored 19 of his 26 points in the second half, including 15 consecutive Phoenix points in one stretch, to match his career playoff scoring high.
Amare Stoudemire, back in the postseason after missing last year's while recovering from two knee surgeries, added 23 points and 12 rebounds.
Bryant scored 39, but only 11 in the second half. The NBA's scoring champ was 1-for-10 shooting in the fourth quarter, when Phoenix pulled away.
Steve Nash had 20 points and 10 assists and Shawn Marion 16 points and 16 rebounds for a Phoenix team that struggled mightily until Barbosa provide the spark, highlighted by a 31-footer at the third-quarter buzzer that cut the Lakers' lead to 77-74 entering the fourth.
Lamar Odom had 17 points and 16 rebounds for Los Angeles.
Barbosa's personal scoring surge erased a 77-71 deficit. His driving layup on an ultra-fast break put Phoenix ahead 79-77 with 10:29.
It was the Suns' first lead since it was 13-11 midway through the first quarter. The Phoenix run reached 16-4 after Boris Diaw made one of two free throws to give the Suns an 87-81 lead 6:27 from the finish.
With Bryant misfiring, Phoenix stretched it to 91-83 on Stoudemire's dunk after a pass from Barbosa, who had tumbled to the floor, with 3:32 left. Bryant's lone field goal in the fourth quarter was a layup.
Nuggets 95, Spurs 89
SAN ANTONIO -- This is what the Denver Nuggets had in mind when they acquired Allen Iverson to go with Carmelo Anthony.
The high-scoring All-Star duo provided the offense and the Nuggets were tough defensively, too, as they beat San Antonio in Game 1 of their playoff series.
Iverson scored 29 of his 31 after the first quarter and Anthony added 30 points for the sixth-seeded Nuggets, who haven't won a playoff series since 1994.
Nene added 13 points and 12 rebounds and Marcus Camby grabbed 10 boards for Denver. The big guys also made things difficult for Tim Duncan, who scored 14 points and had 10 rebounds for the Spurs.
Tony Parker led third-seeded San Antonio with 19 points, followed by Michael Finley with 15 and Robert Horry with 14.
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