Final Score: Suns 115, Lakers 106

Going into this Western Conference Finals series against the Lakers, the Phoenix Suns seemed to have an advantage in four crucial areas of the game: up-tempo pace control, three-point shooting, bench production, and team chemistry.

Through the first 3 games of the series, these advantages did not come into play like the Suns expected. But Phoenix was still in the series, down 2 games to 1 with a Game 4 at home in their friendly Arizona confines that could even the series. And even the series they did.

The Suns easily disposed of the Los Angeles Lakers in Tuesday night's Game 4, in which they had all 10 players that got playing time to score at least 6 points. Four players were in double figures, and the bench production was off the charts.

Phoenix's Game 4 performance was nothing short of clinical, as they dominated in every one of their 4 distinct advantages.

1. Phoenix played their patented up-tempo, 12-second offense that left the Lakers running up and down the floor all game. Phil Jackson, Kobe Bryant, and the rest of the Lakers were extremely disappointed by their defensive effort. Credit the Suns, who made it extremely difficult for L.A. to have enough energy to actively defend on one end while needing to keep scoring in bunches at the other end.

2. The Suns were 11 for 30 from the three point line, not a terrific shooting night. But they had a +9 advantage in that area, holding the Lakers to 9 for 28 from deep. Phoenix hit 10 of their threes in the first half and established their outside game as a major threat. The Lakers got flustered defensively and it led to a constantly scrambling, confused unit that was exposed by Phoenix's quick ball movement and drive-and-kick game.

3. Team chemistry is not something that can be measured in the box score. But it was clearly on display in this game. Usually when a productive starter is removed from the game, he sits quietly on the bench to get rest and wait to be called on to get back in the game. Rarely do you see starting players so heavily cheering for their bench replacements, standing up and cheering every time they got a rebound or made a hustle play. But that's exactly what the Suns starters were doing all night in Game 4. Grant Hill would jump up like a kid in a candy store when Jared Dudley hit a three. And Amar'e Stoudemire would get the crowd going crazy every time Lou Amundson scored or made a strong defensive play. Phoenix was a true collection of teammates in Game 4, feeding off one another and being equally confident in themselves and their teammates.

4. The greatest facet of Phoenix's Game 4, though, was their bench production. Goran Dragic, Leandro Barbosa, Jared Dudley, Channing Frye, and Lou Amundson were all incredible spark plugs off the bench. Every player had a strong game, outplaying both the Lakers' counterpart second unit, and even outplaying the L.A. starters in the 4th quarter. Alvin Gentry had a full lineup of second unit players for the first NINE minutes of the 4th quarter! He wanted to bring back Steve Nash and Amar'e Stoudemire with 5 minutes to play, but after calling upon them he decided to sit them back down and allow the second unit to continue their hot streak. The Phoenix bench had an unbelievable 54 points off the bench, nearly as many points as their starters. Every bench player had a +/- stat of at least +10. It's a fascinating box score to look at. Channing Frye, who had missed 17 straight shots going into Tuesday's game, had a huge night, scoring 14 points on 4 for 8 shooting from three. Dragic had his typical explosive night, scoring 8 with 4 rebounds and a massive 8 assists off the bench. It's nice when your backup point guard can dish out 8 assists. Barbosa add 14 points, and Dudley had 11, as well.

All in all, Phoenix's second unit outscored the Lakers' bench, 54-20.

The Lakers got 38 points, 7 rebounds, and 10 assists from Kobe Bryant, who continues to play unbelievable basketball in this series. This has to be one of his all-time best statistical series'. But that has not led to dominance for his team, as the Lakers are now tied 2-2 and searching for answers of how to stop the Suns.

Phoenix played their game at home. They got the 2 necessary wins to tie the series at 2-2. But Game 5 is the crucial game. Phoenix was thoroughly dominated by the Lakers in L.A. in Games 1 and 2. The defensive execution was not there for them. But, we'll see if the newly installed zone defense can cause fits for the Lakers on their home floor.

Los Angeles just needs to get back to playing their game. They will be ecstatic to get out of Arizona, where they could not avoid getting into the Suns' game.

Game 5, in Los Angeles on Thursday night, will be a huge game. A Suns win, and this series could be over, with Phoenix playing at home in Game 6. But a Lakers win, and the pressure is entirely on Phoenix, with the Lakers taking comfort in knowing they can play the decisive Game 7 at home. Game 5 is the crucial game, and tune in on Thursday night.