Halftime: Lakers 54, Suns 44

There were few signs in tonight's first half that there would be a repeat of the Lakers' 19-point rout of the Suns on Nov. 12 at Staples Center. But the Lakers edged away to a double-digit lead just before halftime, with Kobe Bryant scoring 15 points on 6-for-8 shooting in the opening half. Ron Artest added 12 points. Amare Stoudemire led Phoenix with 10 points and seven rebounds. The teams played old-school when referee David Jones was forced from the game because of a brief dizzy spell in the opening quarter. Derrick Stafford and Kevin Fehr worked the game in a two-man crew. Jones went to a local hospital to get checked out. There was no immediate word on his condition.