Only 3 games mattered last night, including the Suns defeat of the Detroit Pistons. The Lakers came out strong and held on to beat the Jazz, while the Spurs and Manu Ginobili managed to knock off the Magic. The end result puts the Suns in a tie with the Dallas Mavericks for the second seed in the West. However, the tie-breaker (1-2 vs. the Mavs) drops the Suns to 3. The top 8 WC teams are all nearing the 50-win plateau.
Friday, April 2 Western Conference Noteworthy Games:
San Antonio Spurs 112 Orlando Magic 100- On word in this one-Manu. 43 points 6 rebounds 5 assists. A perplexed Van Gundy: "We put three different guys on him, nobody could stop him." Timmay also chipped in 23 for the Spurs. (Game Recap)
Los Angeles Lakers 106 Utah Jazz 92- The Lakers got off to a huge start, outscoring the Jazz 33-16 in the first quarter and cruised to victory. Kobe and Odom led the way with 25 and 26 points respectively as the Lakers ended a two game losing streak. (Game Recap)
Phoenix Suns 109 Detroit Pistons 94- It was the 3-point show for the Suns, as they drilled 15-28 from beyond the arc. Jared Dudley led the way with 6 3's and 20 points, (both career highs), while Amare Stoudemire added 29 points for the Suns who are 4-0 on their current east coast swing. (Game Recap)
Western Conference Standings:
| TEAM | W | L | PCT | GB | L10 | STREAK |
| 1. LA Lakers |
55 | 21 | .724 | - | 7-3 | WON 1 |
| 2. Dallas | 50 | 26 | .658 | 5 |
5-5 | LOST 1 |
|
3. Suns |
50 | 26 | .658 | 5 | 10-0 | WON 10 |
| 4. Utah | 50 | 27 | .649 | 5.5 | 7-3 | LOST 1 |
| 5. Denver | 49 | 27 | .645 | 6 | 4-6 | WON 1 |
| 6. Oklahoma City |
46 | 28 | .622 | 8 | 6-4 | WON 2 |
| 7. San Antonio |
46 | 29 | .613 | 8.5 | 6-4 | WON 2 |
| 8. Portland |
46 | 30 | .605 | 9 | 8-2 | LOST 1 |