Lakers Fall to Suns in Las Vegas, 101-98
Former Nevada Las Vegas star Armon Gilliam scored 31 points and had 17 rebounds to help lead the Phoenix Suns to a 101-98 victory over the Lakers in a National Basketball Assn. exhibition Tuesday night.
The Lakers built a 30-19 lead in the first half and held a 74-60 lead in the second half before the Suns scored 14 unanswered points to tie the game, played at the Thomas and Mack Center on the UNLV campus.
Consecutive turnovers by James Worthy, Tony Campbell and Magic Johnson hurt the Lakers down the stretch.
In one scoring spree, Gilliam sank 4 free throws, made a spectacular fast-break dunk and then laid in a shot over Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to put the Suns ahead, 100-94.
Johnson rallied with a lay-in and a short jumper to pull the Lakers within 100-98 with 55 seconds left, but Phoenix held on to win.
The Suns improved their exhibition season record to 2-1, and the Lakers fell to 2-1.
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