Kobe Bryant Archives May 2008 Kobe Bryant Archives May 2008   KOBE BRYANT & LAKERS ARE THE WESTERN CONF. CHAMPIONS May 30, 2008 - The Lakers celebrated the Western Conference championship before their adoring fans at Staples Center, but not too hard. They've got one more goal to reach before the real excitement begins. Kobe Bryant scored 17 of his 39 points in the fourth quarter, and the Lakers rallied from an early 17-point deficit to beat the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs 100-92 on Thursday night and win the conference finals in five games. They get a week off before opening the NBA Finals next Thursday night at Boston or Detroit. The Celtics lead the Eastern Conference finals 3-2 with Game 6 on Friday night in Detroit. LOS ANGELES LAKERS VS. SAN ANTONIO SPURS PLAYOFFS: GAME 5 HIGHLIGHTS "I think it is a tremendous accomplishment,'' Bryant said. "I think the West is extremely tough. We're all extremely excited and proud about it. Now, it's time to go on and see if we can't finish it off.'' The Lakers are 12-3 in the playoffs, including 8-0 at Staples Center, where they haven't lost in two months. They have won 14 straight home games and 21 of their last 24 postseason games at home. "My heart's still pumping, that adrenaline is still running from the game,'' said Lamar Odom, who had 13 points and eight rebounds. "Maybe when I sit down and have something to eat, I'll realize what just happened. 2008 PLAYOFFS LOS ANGELES LAKERS ROUND THREE PHOTO GALLERY "We came out here, played our game, and won. It's satisfying, but one more step.'' A basket by Odom gave the Lakers an 83-76 lead with 5:40 remaining, but a 3-pointer by Brent Barry and a basket by Tony Parker drew the Spurs within two points. Manu Ginobili missed a 3-pointer that could have given San Antonio the lead before Bryant's jumper with 3:33 to play made it 85-81. A foul shot by Tim Duncan drew the Spurs within three, but two more baskets by Bryant made it 89-82 with 1:47 to play, and the Spurs weren't closer than five points after that. Pau Gasol had 12 points, a career playoff-high 19 rebounds, five assists and four blocked shots and backup guards Sasha Vujacic and Jordan Farmar added nine and eight points, respectively. LOS ANGELES LAKERS PLAYOFF SCHEDULE Game 1 : Lakers 89 Spurs 85 : Lakers Lead The Series 1-0 Game 2 : Lakers 101 Spurs 71 : Lakers Lead The Series 2-0 Game 3 : Spurs 103 Lakers 84 : Lakers Lead The Series 2-1 Game 4 : Lakers 93 Spurs 91 : Lakers Lead The Series 3-1 Game 5* : Lakers 100 Spurs 92 : Lakers Win The Series 4-1 Game 6* : Saturday, May 31 : at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m. ET (TNT) Game 7* : Monday, June 2 : at Los Angeles, 9 p.m. ET (TNT) * If necessary 3RD ROUND - SAN ANTONIO SPURS The Lakers clinched their berth in the finals a year to the day after Bryant called the team's front office "a mess'' during a radio interview. A day later, he demanded a trade, ultimately saying he preferred playing on Pluto rather than returning to the team he joined as an 18-year-old in 1996. The situation calmed down until Lakers owner Jerry Buss told reporters during training camp in October he was listening to offers for Bryant, angering the superstar once again. But once the season began, Bryant bonded with his teammates, led the Lakers to the No. 1 seed in the rugged West and won his first MVP award. - NBA.com   KOBE BRYANT POWERS LAKERS TO A 3-1 SERIES LEAD May 27, 2008 - Kobe Bryant looked back and found himself all alone. All but guaranteed the basket, he went up and slammed the ball with a little extra oomph, just for good measure. One more win, and Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers will be all alone in the Western Conference and on their way to the NBA Finals. The Lakers beat the San Antonio Spurs 93-91 on Tuesday night - surviving a last-second 3-point attempt that would have given the Spurs the win - for a 3-1 lead in the conference finals. LOS ANGELES LAKERS VS. SAN ANTONIO SPURS PLAYOFFS: GAME 4 HIGHLIGHTS "It is a big step for us,'' said Bryant, who led the Lakers with 28 points and 10 rebounds. "Tonight we came out and did a much, much better job to win in this building in this particular game. It's big for us.'' The defending champion Spurs lost at home for the first time this postseason and they face elimination when they play Game 5 in Los Angeles on Thursday. The Lakers were last in the Finals in 2004 when they lost to Detroit in five games. Lamar Odom, who was upset with his Game 3 performance, scored 16 points, eight in the fourth quarter, for Los Angeles, while Pau Gasol had 10 points and 10 rebounds and Vladimir Radmanovic added 11 points. 2008 PLAYOFFS LOS ANGELES LAKERS ROUND THREE PHOTO GALLERY Manu Ginobili, who had struggled all night, hit a 3-pointer to bring the Spurs within four. After a miss by Bryant, Parker scored on a fast break when Odom was called for goaltending, bringing the Spurs within 93-91 with 28 seconds to play. Fisher missed a shot for Los Angeles but the ball went out of bounds and remained in the Lakers' possession with 2 seconds on the shot clock. Bryant missed a jumper and the Spurs had 2.1 seconds left. When Barry's 3 missed, Bryant pumped his fists in the air and the Lakers were headed home in command of the series. LOS ANGELES LAKERS PLAYOFF SCHEDULE Game 1 : Lakers 89 Spurs 85 : Lakers Lead The Series 1-0 Game 2 : Lakers 101 Spurs 71 : Lakers Lead The Series 2-0 Game 3 : Spurs 103 Lakers 84 : Lakers Lead The Series 2-1 Game 4 : Lakers 93 Spurs 91 : Lakers Lead The Series 3-1 Game 5* : Thursday, May 29 : at Los Angeles, 9 p.m. ET (TNT) Game 6* : Saturday, May 31 : at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m. ET (TNT) Game 7* : Monday, June 2 : at Los Angeles, 9 p.m. ET (TNT) * If necessary 3RD ROUND - SAN ANTONIO SPURS "Obviously we're in a hole and it's 3-1,'' Duncan said. "It's one loss and an elimination, but we really feel that if we clean a lot of this stuff up we have an opportunity to get right back in this series.'' The Lakers were up 77-70 heading into the fourth quarter. Barry's 3 brought the Spurs within 77-75 and his running jumper got them to 79-77. Odom's dunk started the 7-0 run, then his layup balanced on the rim before falling in, and he hit a free throw for a three-point play. Bryant stole the ball for a slam to put the Lakers up 88-79 with 3:29 to play. - NBA.com   KOBE BRYANT LEADS TEAM WITH 30 POINTS BUT CAN'T FIND WIN May 26, 2008 - Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 30 points and Pau Gasol scored 15. Lamar Odom struggled all night, finishing 2-of-11 from the field for seven points. But he had six of the Lakers' 13 assists and 11 rebounds. "They played solid defense, but we missed a lot of easy ones,'' Bryant said. The Lakers also struggled at the free throw line, going just 8-of-17. Bryant went to the line only once. On Sunday, the Spurs got a lead midway through the second quarter and never looked back, despite a late surge from Bryant. LOS ANGELES LAKERS VS. SAN ANTONIO SPURS PLAYOFFS: GAME 3 HIGHLIGHTS "I felt good, and then it was easier for me,'' Ginobili said. Up 69-57 entering the fourth, the Spurs opened with a 12-4 run, and Parker's layup gave them a 20-point lead with a little over 8 minutes to play. Then Bryant did what Bryant does: almost single-handedly pulled his team out of the hole. He hit four 3-pointers over the course of less than 2 1/2 minutes and his last one brought the Lakers within 88-76 with 5 minutes to play. But the Lakers would get no closer, not when the Spurs' title defense would be all but ruined with a Game 3 loss. Duncan answered with a three-point play to put the Spurs back up by 15 and not long after Brent Barry's steal that resulted in a three-point play for Ginobili made it 97-78 with 3:26 to go. 2008 PLAYOFFS LOS ANGELES LAKERS ROUND THREE PHOTO GALLERY "He bounced back the way I thought he would,'' Bryant said of Ginobili. "He had a spectacular first half.'' Reserve Jordan Farmar scored 10 points for the Lakers. In the first half, Parker was penetrating the paint, but Ginobili was the big key for the Spurs. He had 22 points at the break - more than the 17 he scored in Games 1 and 2 combined. And whether or not his injured left ankle was bothering him, he didn't need it to explode to the basket because he hit 3 after 3. LOS ANGELES LAKERS PLAYOFF SCHEDULE Game 1 : Lakers 89 Spurs 85 : Lakers Lead The Series 1-0 Game 2 : Lakers 101 Spurs 71 : Lakers Lead The Series 2-0 Game 3 : Spurs 103 Lakers 84 : Lakers Lead The Series 2-1 Game 4 : Tuesday, May 27 : at San Antonio, 9 p.m. ET (TNT) Game 5* : Thursday, May 29 : at Los Angeles, 9 p.m. ET (TNT) Game 6* : Saturday, May 31 : at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m. ET (TNT) Game 7* : Monday, June 2 : at Los Angeles, 9 p.m. ET (TNT) * If necessary 3RD ROUND - SAN ANTONIO SPURS After Bryant's driving dunk past Duncan with 4:57 left in the first quarter put the Lakers up 15-8, Ginobili hit back-to-back 3s from the same spot on the wing to get the Spurs within a point. He didn't stop in the second quarter. His 3 4 1/2 minutes in put the Spurs up 33-30, then he got to the rim about 30 seconds later and was fouled. His free throw made it 36-32. "He is such a competitor,'' Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "He puts so much on his shoulders, he fights through a lot of things.'' - NBA.com   KOBE BRYANT LEADS LAKERS IN A BLOWOUT WIN OVER SPURS May 24, 2008 - There would be no blown lead in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals. Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers saw to that. Bryant scored 22 points, Lamar Odom added 20 points and 12 rebounds, and the Lakers took command late in the second quarter to rout San Antonio 101-71 Friday night for a 2-0 lead over the Spurs. Games 3 and 4 in the best-of-seven series will be played in San Antonio, where the defending NBA champion Spurs have a 6-0 record in the postseason and have won 20 of their last 22 games. LOS ANGELES LAKERS VS. SAN ANTONIO SPURS PLAYOFFS: GAME 2 HIGHLIGHTS They never trailed in Game 2 -- the third time in their last four playoff games that happened. After a basket by Tim Duncan enabled the Spurs to forge the only tie, the Lakers scored the final nine points of the second quarter for a 46-37 halftime lead. San Antonio would get no closer. The Lakers had reason to be leery as the second half began, considering the Spurs outscored them 14-2 to begin the third quarter in Game 1 for a 65-45 lead before the Lakers stormed back. 2008 PLAYOFFS LOS ANGELES LAKERS