The Phoenix Suns had no option but to pick their poison: when they double-teamed Kobe Bryant, he fired a laser pass to an open teammate and when they boxed in on Pau Gasol in the post; guys like Ron Artest and Jordan Farmar made them pay from the perimeter.

Pau Gasol scored 14 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter while Kobe had 21 points and 13 assists as the Los Angeles Lakers tore apart the Suns’ “bend but don’t break” defense in the final minutes to take a 2-0 series lead.

For the second straight game, the Lakers shot better than 57% from the field. The Suns’ lack of size became exposed again as Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum all took turns abusing Amare Stoudemire in the paint.

Pau Gasol effortlessly scored in the 4th quarter by consistently setting up near the basket, waiting for Kobe to kick it out to him and capping the play with an easy lay-in.

The Lakers remained unbeaten at home in the postseason despite a much-improved effort from the Suns, who lost the opener by 21 points. Phoenix tied it at 90-all heading to the final period of Game 2, but Gasol and Bryant flawlessly led the Lakers to another high-scoring victory, handing third-seeded Phoenix its first back-to-back losses since late January.

Game 3 is Sunday night in Phoenix.

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