In the mid-to-late 2000s, the Phoenix Suns were one of the Los Angeles Lakers’ chief rivals. They defeated the Purple and Gold in the first round of the 2006 and 2007 playoffs, only to be knocked off by L.A. in the 2010 Western Conference Finals.
By 2011, the rivalry had cooled, but on a March night that year, the two teams engaged in a very memorable battle that went three extra periods.
At the time, the Lakers were the two-time defending NBA champs and were going for a three-peat. After an inconsistent first half of the campaign, they were starting to surge as the playoffs neared, having gone on a recent eight-game winning streak.
