PHOENIX — Shaquille O'Neal gave Phil Jackson a sweaty hug 90 minutes before tip-off, a fitting image in a bizarre couple of days that ended the best possible way for the Lakers.
Vladimir Radmanovic rediscovered his shooting touch and the Lakers embraced their defense, the hallmark of their young season, in a 105-92 victory over the Phoenix Suns at US Airways Center.
The Suns' offense has lost a step or two since Mike D'Antoni left to coach the New York Knicks, but the Lakers made it look even worse than that on Thursday night, holding them almost nine points below their season average.
On the more surprising front, Radmanovic made all five of his three-point attempts and had 15 points.
He came into the game averaging 6.1 points and shooting 34%, a reality that had him answering probing questions about his place in the starting lineup after Wednesday's practice.
But Radmanovic was unflappable Thursday.
"Makes a big difference," Jackson said. "That changes the game around."
And to ponder that it happened on a night where Kobe Bryant never found his touch, missing 15 of 23 shots on the way to 24 points. Not that the Lakers (9-1) cared about missed shots of their own.
The Phoenix fans envisioned a different ending as they hoisted signs that were handed out ahead of time: "Mission: Beat L.A."
It wasn't impossible, just improbable, as the Lakers pulled away from a 50-44 halftime edge for an 80-67 advantage at the end of the third quarter.
The game was pretty much left for dead when Lamar Odom drilled a three-pointer with 8:34 to play, giving the Lakers an 89-71 lead. Indeed, a "Let's go, Lakers" chant could be heard near the midpoint of the fourth quarter, right around the time Suns fans began filtering out of the arena.
About the only thing that didn't roll entirely the Lakers' direction was the matchup between O'Neal and Andrew Bynum.
Surprisingly, they had played only two minutes against each other since Bynum was drafted in 2005. (Bynum was hurt last season when the Lakers played against O'Neal's teams, and O'Neal was injured two seasons ago when the Lakers played Miami.)
The slight advantage Thursday went to O'Neal, who finished with 15 points and nine rebounds in 27 minutes. Bynum never found a rhythm because of foul trouble and finished with 10 points and seven rebounds in 21 minutes.
