即使科比膝盖不听使唤，但那仍无法阻止他为湖人队带来西部决赛的开门红。
科比斩下40分，奥多姆贡献了19+19的数据，周一晚在西部决赛的揭幕战中湖人凭借无解的进攻效率以128-107大胜太阳队。
加索尔为湖人贡献了21分，他们在季后赛已经取得7连胜，并且通过非凡的下半场表演终止了太阳队的季后6连胜，特别是科比在第3节狂飚21分的出彩表现。
卫冕冠军在主场击败了西部3号种子，当必要的时候他们也可以加快节奏，他们在场上流畅地为科比做铺垫，这已经是他在季后赛连续第6场砍下30+。科比在第四节大部分时间都在场下休息，使得疼痛的膝盖得以歇息。另外，这场比赛科比得到了季后赛生涯第11次得分40+。
周三的第二战仍将会在斯坦普斯中心进行。
小斯和纳什分别为太阳贡献23分和13分13助，太阳上一次落败还得回溯到4月24号。罗宾洛佩兹以首发中锋出场，并且在他的季后赛首秀中拿下14分，但是太阳仍无法击败卫冕冠军湖人。（这是自06年以来太阳首次闯入西部决赛）
两队都是在次轮以4-0横扫对手晋级，而且这是两队在5年内的第三次季后赛交锋，湖人队拒绝让一周的休息时间打乱他们极其良好的节奏。
科比不断地用跳投与犀利的突破引导湖人打出高潮，尽管他上周几乎没怎么碰球，但是我们丝毫看不出他有任何的"生锈"或者被伤病折磨的迹象。此役他23投13中，其中包括3记三分球，并且11罚仅投失1个。
尽管太阳也打出了流利的进攻水准，但是科比的队友表现几乎也同样出色，太阳队碰到了湖人之前的对手--犹他爵士已经雷霆队所遇到的高度劣势问题。湖人队投篮命中率达到58%，并且仅出现9次失误，这是他们连续第三场将失误数控制在单位数。另外，他们在篮板方面也以42-34占据优势。
太阳队曾在06和07年两度将科比，奥多姆和湖人队淘汰出局，湖人队中的老将承认他们心里存有复仇的斗志。
禅师杰克逊在赛前透露科比的膝盖刚刚抽掉了积水，并将科比拉至伤病名单的首要位置。但是科比的身体没有显示出任何不对劲的迹象，在首节一次突破中，他不慎摔到头部击中理查德森的膝盖，但是他不久便站了起来。
比赛是以太阳最喜欢最擅长的节奏开始，两队都在快速奔跑，迅速出手。开局湖人一度落后，但他们之后连得11分追回局面，并且全队在首节得到了35分，这是湖人在季后赛上单节最高的纪录。首节比赛是以科比在底线两名防守球员压迫下的一记漂移压哨跳投结束的。
比赛随记：
科比上一场在季后赛中飚下40分是在去年总决赛对阵魔术的揭幕战...湖人的铁甲西奇在因脚踝受伤缺席前两个系列赛后首度登场亮相...禅师在赛前否认了他即将收山的流言，他表示自从上次记者问过退役的问题之后就没有思考过...科比和希尔分别在第三节相隔57秒的时间内因与裁判争辩吃到技术犯规...拉里大卫坐在原来那个8座的场边位置上观看比赛，此君在他的《抑制热情》第一季时期，在观看比赛时上演了将奥尼尔绊倒臭名昭著的一幕...场边的名人观众还包括性感女星杰西卡-阿尔巴，达斯汀·霍夫曼，约翰·C·赖利，史泰龙和大卫·阿奎特。 原文来自：http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/Lakers-108%2C-Suns-88 翻译：松爷
Even on a balky knee, Kobe Bryant had no problem giving the Los Angeles Lakers an early leg up in the Western Conference finals.
Bryant scored 40 points, Lamar Odom added 19 points and 19 rebounds, and the Lakers opened the series with ruthless offensive efficiency in a 128-107 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Monday night.
Pau Gasol had 21 points for the top-seeded Lakers, who won their seventh straight playoff game and snapped the Suns' six-game streak with a phenomenal second half highlighted by Bryant's 21-point third quarter.
The defending NBA champions beat the third-seeded Suns at their own uptempo game when necessary, fluidly running the court to set up baskets for Bryant in his sixth straight 30-point game. Bryant then rested his sore knee for most of the fourth quarter in the 11th 40-point game of his playoff career.
Game 2 is Wednesday night at Staples Center.
Amare Stoudemire scored 23 points and Steve Nash had 13 points and 13 assists for the Suns, who hadn't lost since April 24. Robin Lopez started at center and scored 14 points in his playoff debut, but Phoenix couldn't keep up with the champs in its first conference finals appearance since 2006.
Both teams swept their second-round series to earn their third postseason date in five years, but the Lakers didn't allow a week off to affect their remarkable execution.
Bryant alternated jumpers and strong drives while Los Angeles pulled away, showing no problems with rust or nagging injuries despite barely practicing for the past week. His 13-for-23 shooting performance included three 3-pointers and 11 free throws with just one miss.
Bryant's teammates were nearly as impressive despite a game offensive effort by the Suns, who ran into the same height problems faced by Utah and Oklahoma City earlier in the Lakers' playoff run. Los Angeles made 58 percent of its shots and committed just nine turnovers in Game 1 - its third straight single-digit turnover game - while outrebounding the smaller Suns 42-34.
The Suns sent Bryant, Odom and the Lakers home for the summer in 2006 and 2007, and Los Angeles' veterans acknowledged a measure of revenge in their minds - as long as they're healthy enough to do it.
Coach Phil Jackson revealed before the game that Bryant's right knee was drained ``a while ago,'' moving it to the top of the injury list for last season's NBA finals MVP. But Bryant didn't show any obvious effects from his litany of injuries, and he bounced back up after hitting his head on Jason Richardson's knee during a drive in the first quarter.
The game began at the Suns' favored tempo, with both clubs sprinting up and down for quick baskets. The Lakers rallied from an early deficit with 11 consecutive points, and their 35 first-quarter points - capped by a dynamic baseline jumper by Bryant over two defenders at the buzzer - were Los Angeles' most in any quarter of the playoffs.
NOTES: Bryant last scored 40 points in the postseason during the opener of last year's NBA finals against Orlando. ... Lakers G Sasha Vujacic appeared in his first game of the postseason after missing the first two rounds with a sprained ankle. ... Jackson swatted away another rumor of his imminent retirement before the game, saying he hadn't thought about his future since the last time reporters asked him about it. ... Bryant and Grant Hill got technical fouls for arguing with officials 57 seconds apart in the third quarter. ... Larry David watched the game from the same eight-seat courtside section where his fictional alter ego infamously tripped Shaquille O'Neal during a first-season episode of ``Curb Your Enthusiasm.'' The crowd also included actors Jessica Alba, Dustin Hoffman, John C. Reilly, Sylvester Stallone and David Arquette.
