A win to build on

Photo: Paul Connors/AP

Thursday night when the Lakers toyed with the Suns in a 132-106 blowout, it didn’t look like Phoenix belonged on the same court with the defending Western Conference champions.

On Sunday, that all changed. Shaquille O’Neal was dominant again, scoring 33 points before fouling out, and the Suns defeat the Lakers, despite 49 points from Kobe Bryant, 118-111.

Outside of O’Neal’s dominance, the Suns got a huge game from Matt Barnes. Barnes scored a season-high 26 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, handed out 7 assists and had 3 steals. It was a good sign for Barnes, who also played well Friday against Toronto (18 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists). Getting consistent performances from Barnes is a must if the Suns want to continue their push toward the postseason. But, consistency has been a problem for Barnes, who has been held scoreless three times this season too.

This is the best win this season for the Suns. First, any win without Steve Nash is a good win. Secondly, any win against the Lakers is a good win, especially with Kobe Bryant playing lights out. Phoenix has not fared well against teams ahead of them in the standings this season, going just 7-12 against the Western Conference’s top 8 squads. But this win has to instill a little confidence in a team that is now 6-2 after the break, while averaging 125 points per game.

I’m not willing to say the Suns are a playoff team just yet, but we’ll find out a lot more about how legitimate they are during the next four game road trip to Orlando, Miami, Houston and San Antonio that begins on Tuesday.

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