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Lakers notebook: Farmar fails to make impact

The Los Angeles Lakers have no shortage of woes these days, but point guard play might top the list.

Jordan Farmar remained in the starting lineup but did little to show that he should retain the spot, as he missed all three of his shots and had one assist, one turnover and two fouls in 12-plus minutes.

For the second consecutive game, Jordan Farmar sat out the entire fourth quarter in favor of Smush Parker and Shammond Williams, each of whom played fairly well and could be the starting point guard in Game 5.

Smush Parker and Williams each played almost 20 minutes off the bench. Smush Parker had nine points and Williams had seven, and all but two of those combined 16 points were scored in the fourth quarter.

"Smush, I thought, played good and gave us some points off the bench, and Shammond gave us some points,'' Coach Phil Jackson said. "There are things they have to do to improve, but I thought there was some improvement in their offensive games. Jordan didn't have a good game.''

Helping hands

Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire had the big games, but the Suns also had balance. Five players scored in double figures.

Shawn Marion had a particularly efficient game as he made 10 of 15 shots from the field and finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Leandro Barbosa had 16 points.

"(Phoenix) is a team that passes the ball so well as a team,'' Los Angeles Lakers forward Lamar Odom said. "All five guys. You never have a play off.''

Walking wounded

Los Angeles Lakers center Kwame Brown, hobbled by two sprained ankles, returned to the locker room after the first quarter when he experienced back tightness.

Kwame Brown, who had a breakout 19-point effort in Game 3, returned midway through the second quarter but proved ineffective against Phoenix center Stoudemire as the Los Angeles Lakers lacked an inside game.

"(Stoudemire) is so athletic,'' Lamar Odom said. "We need Kwame to attack him as much as possible.''

Points in the paint, a key stat in favor of the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3, went the Suns' way as they scored 54 points inside compared to the Los Angeles Lakers' 44.

Close it out

The Suns are mindful of history heading into Wednesday's Game 5. Only 11 of 193 teams have rallied from a 2-0 deficit to win a best-of-7 series, which are the odds the Los Angeles Lakers face. But last year, the Suns rallied from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round. "We were the wounded animal last year,'' Suns guard Raja Bell said. "When we had our backs against the wall, we played our best ball. Understanding that, we're going to have to try to take advantage of that home-court situation.''

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