PHOENIX – Leandro Barbosa scored 19 points in the second half to spark Phoenix’s comeback and Kobe Bryant went from awesome to awful.

The result for the Suns was a 95-87 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in their first-round playoff opener on Sunday.

Barbosa finished with 26 points, including 15 consecutive for Phoenix in one stretch, to match his career playoff scoring high. Amare Stoudemire, back in the postseason after missing last year’s while recovering from two knee surgeries, added 23 points and 12 rebounds.

Bryant scored 39, but only 11 in the second half. The NBA’s scoring champ was 1-for-10 shooting in the fourth quarter, when Phoenix pulled away.

Steve Nash had 20 points and 10 assists and Shawn Marion 16 points and 16 rebounds for a Phoenix team struggled mightily until Barbosa provide a spark, highlighted by a 31-footer at the third-quarter buzzer that cut the Lakers’ lead to 77-74 entering the fourth.

Lamar Odom had 17 points and 16 rebounds.

Cavaliers 97, Wizards 82

CLEVELAND – LeBron James stayed in the game despite a sprained ankle and scored 23 points, Larry Hughes added 27 and Cleveland beat injury-depleted Washington in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference series.

James rolled his left ankle in the third quarter but refused to come out, adding nine rebounds and seven assists in 44 minutes.

The Cavs figured to blow through their second straight first-round matchup with the Wizards, who were missing All-Stars Gilbert Arenas (knee surgery) and Caron Butler (broken hand).

However, Antawn Jamison scored 28 points and Jarvis Hayes 18 for Washington, which was still within 10 points with more than seven minutes remaining.

Nuggets 95, Spurs 89

SAN ANTONIO – This is what the Denver Nuggets had in mind when they acquired Allen Iverson to go with Carmelo Anthony.

The high-scoring All-Star duo provided the offense and the Nuggets were tough defensively, too, as they beat the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 of their Western Conference playoff series Sunday night.

Iverson scored 29 of his 31 after the first quarter and Anthony added 30 points for the sixth-seeded Nuggets, who haven’t won a playoff series since 1994.

Nene added 13 points and 12 rebounds and Marcus Camby grabbed 10 boards for Denver. The big guys also made things difficult for Tim Duncan, who scored 14 points and had 10 rebounds for the Spurs.

Tony Parker led third-seeded San Antonio with 19 points, followed by Michael Finley with 15 and Robert Horry with 14.