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On Friday evening in Phoenix, the Lakers and Suns are set to face off for the fourth and final time of the 2009-10 regular season, with L.A. holding a 2-1 lead thus far after two home wins and a road loss.

The details: back on November 12 in Los Angeles, the Lakers demolished the Suns 121-102. Less than a month later, the result wasn’t too different, the Purple and Gold running away with a 108-88 victory for a cumulative + 39 on Phoenix.

But on Dec. 28, Phoenix turned the tables in their own building to the tune of a 118-103 victory. So we’re at +24.

Heading into that matchup, the Suns had struggled, losing 9-of-13 games during their worst stretch of the season (L.A. tends to bring out the best in its opponents, after all).

Yet with Friday’s game at US Airways Center on the horizon, the Suns are hot, winning 8-of-10 games to settle into sixth place in the Western Conference with a 40-25 record, 2.5 games back of Utah (who accounted for one of the two recent Suns losses).

With 17 games left on the schedule, climbing into the top four seems a reasonable, if difficult, goal for Phoenix. The Suns have nine games at home and eight on the road, highlighted by home-and-away contests against current No. 4 Utah (included a season finale at Utah on April 14) that could well decide each team’s playoff slot.

The Lakers, meanwhile, have gone just 9-11 in their last 20 road games, a stretch that began with that Dec. 28 road loss to Phoenix, and have seen their lead over Dallas diminish to 2.5 games. L.A. will be looking to go 3-1 against Phoenix for the third straight season, coming after three straight seasons (2004-07) that saw the Suns win the regular season matchup. Phil Jackson’ squad is 3-7 in its last 10 games in Arizona, though Jackson has a 25-14 record against the Suns overall while coaching the Lakers.

A few other Lakers – Suns connections: Phoenix forward Jared Dudley was a teammate of Adam Morrison and Shannon Brown in Charlotte; Suns assistant coach Bill Cartwright won three championships as a center for Jackson’s Bulls (1990-92); and Luke Walton and Suns center Channing Frye were college teammates at Arizona for two seasons (2001-02, 2002-03).

Frye, who has made a team-high 139 triples (43.4 percent) and effectively spaced the floor for Phoenix, will not play against L.A. due to a one-game suspension for getting into a skirmish with Indiana’s Danny Granger on March 6 (Phoenix’s last game, an improbably long break in the schedule). That hurts, as Frye’s shooting helps pull one of L.A.’s bigs out of the paint, but Phoenix does get Leandro Barbosa back from a 21-game absence during which the Suns went 15-6.

The game tips off at 6 p.m. and can be seen on KCAL or listened to on 710 ESPN radio, and as always.

Phil Jackson Pregame Notes
A summary of Lakers Coach Phil Jackson’s responses to pregame questions from assembled media:
- Jackson said he was not surprised that Amare Stoudemire wasn’t dealt prior to the NBA’s trade deadline in February, noting that on one hand he’s a very difficult player to replace from a talent standpoint, and that deals involving such high level players are very complicated.

- The Suns, to Jackson, are a different team with Robin Lopez playing at center as opposed to Channing Frye, who started 41 games (including all three against L.A.) before giving way to Lopez 24 games ago. “He can get down there and wrestle with big guys,” said Phil, something Phoenix hasn’t had since Shaquille O’Neal left.

- Jackson cited Jordan Farmar’s injured finger as a reason for his recent shooting struggles (Farmar is 2-for-11 in his last two games). He added that Sasha Vujacic continues to deal with his shoulder, but is hoping he’s able to resume running around screens and hitting shots.

VIDEO SCOUTING REPORT
Assistant coach Jim Cleamons joined us yesterday back in L.A. to preview the team’s three-game road trip, starting with Thursday night’s contest in Miami. After the video (below), Cleamons added that the Lakers will look to improve their post entry passes, a problem in the team’s first match up when the Heat fronted the post, try to expose Miami’s more-frequently-used-of-late zone defense and limit Dwyane Wade’s penetration.

LAKERS - HEAT CONNECTIONS
The Lakers PR staff provides a good deal of information in the Game Notes for each game of the season, including a connections page that details the playing history of Miami and L.A. Here are some of the more interesting notes:

- The Lakers lead their season series with Miami 1-0 after defeating the Heat earlier this season (12/4/09) on a Kobe Bryant one-foot, running, bank-shot three from the top, left side of the arc as the buzzer sounded.

- The Lakers will be looking for their second sweep of the Heat in the last three years, having taken the 2007-08 series 2-0 and splitting last season’s series 1-1. This will be the 44th meeting between the two franchises with the Lakers holding a 29-14 all-time lead.

The Lakers are 6-4 in their last 10 meetings with the Heat but have won 5-of-their-last-6 overall. In Miami, the Lakers are 5-5 in their last 10 games after Bryant’s jumper to tie the game rattled in and out at the buzzer in their last trip to AmericaAirlines Arena (12/19/08).

- Lakers forward Lamar Odom played one season for the Heat, averaging 17.1 points and 9.7 rebounds in 80 games. Following that season, Odom was acquired from the Heat by the Lakers along with Caron Butler, Brian Grant and a future first round draft pick in exchange for Shaquille O’Neal.

- Heat guard Dwyane Wade played alongside Kobe Bryant on the gold medal winning US Men’s Olympic Basketball Team at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Heat guard/forward Quentin Richardson played three seasons alongside Lakers forward Lamar Odom with the Los Angeles Clippers from 2000-03 while Lakers forward Ron Artest played from 2002-06 with Heat center Jermaine O’Neal in Indiana. Heat guard/forward Yakhouba Diawara, a native of Paris, France, played locally at Pepperdine University from 2003-05.

HEAT QUICK HITTERS
From Miami’s Game Notes:
- Miami has limited its opponents to just 44-158 shooting (.278) from three-point range the last eight games.

- Miami is 20-0 when holding opponents to under 90 points and 16-0 when holding opponents under 40.0 percent shooting from the field. The Heat is also 28-5 when leading at the half.

- Dwyane Wade recorded his sixth 30/10 game this season with 35 points and 12 assists on 3/2 vs. Golden State, Miami’s last game; Carlos Arroyo scored a season-high 14 points on 3/2 vs. the Warriors, and tied season-highs in rebounds (five) and steals (two); Jermaine O’Neal’s 14 points on 3/2 vs. GSW marked the sixth consecutive game he has scored in double-figures; Over his last 11 games, Dorell Wright has shot 50.0 percent (32-64) from the field and 44.0 percent (11-25) from three-point range;