The AP reports: Similar game, different ending for the Los Angeles Lakers. Their 24-year playoff dominance of the Denver Nuggets dissipated over the final 29 seconds of the fourth quarter in the second down-to-the-wire game in the Western Conference finals. That’s when Kenyon Martin hit a layup in traffic and Chauncey Billups made 3 of 4 free throws to give Denver a 106-103 victory in Game 2 on Thursday night to even the series… Carmelo Anthony scored 34 points, Billups had 27 points and Linas Kleiza added 16 for the Nuggets. Nene finished with six points, nine rebounds and six assists… Kobe Bryant had 32 points, including making all 10 of his free throws, Trevor Ariza scored a career playoff-high 20 points and Pau Gasol had 17 points and 17 rebounds for the Lakers, who dropped to 7-2 at Staples Center this postseason… The Lakers were shaky on free throws in the fourth, making 9 of 14, while Denver didn’t blink at the line. The Nuggets were 29 of 37, with Billups hitting 13 of 16 and Anthony 10 of 14.
Category: Los Angeles Lakers Blog
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Bryant scores 40, Lakers beat Nuggets 105-103
The AP reports: Kobe Bryant proved a steadying presence for his wildly inconsistent teammates, taking over in the fourth quarter and delivering a come-from-behind victory. Bryant scored 40 points, including six free throws in the final 30 seconds, to lift Los Angeles to a 105-103 win over the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference finals opener on Tuesday night after the Lakers trailed most of the game… Pau Gasol added 13 points and 14 rebounds for the Lakers, who faced a seven-point deficit in the fourth quarter. Gasol’s two free throws tied the game for the last time at 99 before Bryant started his closing streak at the line, offsetting a 3-pointer by Chauncey Billups and a free throw by J.R. Smith. Carmelo Anthony scored 39 points and Billups added 18 for the Nuggets, who hadn’t played since taking care of Dallas in five games last Wednesday… J.R. Smith sprained his right knee and will be re-evaluated Wednesday.
J.R. Smith sprains knee, Renaldo Balkman sprains ankle
Nuggets G JR Smith suffered a sprained right knee at the end of tonight’s game against the Lakers. His status for Thursday’s game will be updated tomorrow.
Renaldo Balkman suffered a sprained right ankle in pregame workouts. He is questionable for Thursday’s game.
Pau Gasol ready for Kenyon Martin
The Los Angeles Times (Broderick Turner) reports: As Pau Gasol walked down the Staples Center hallway Sunday, stopping every so often to sign autographs, to take pictures, to accept congratulations on his 21-point, 18-rebound effort against the Rockets, he answered every question about Kenyon Martin’s behavior like a man not going to be intimidated at all. “You play through it,” Gasol said. “You raise your aggressiveness level. You’ve got to try to be smart. At the same time, you’ve got to play through it.” Many remember last season’s NBA Finals, when the Boston Celtics’ Kevin Garnett seemed to back Gasol down, when all the Lakers seemed to wilt. Martin tries to be as hard-edged as Garnett is. Martin is a good defender, Gasol acknowledged. But Gasol didn’t sound like someone who would back down against Martin in the best-of-seven series. “He’s kind of like their post-up stopper,” Gasol said. “You’ve got to play hard. Don’t back down. Don’t expect any calls. Try to play through it and be aggressive.”
Lakers rout Rockets 89-70 in Game 7
The AP reports: Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and the Los Angeles Lakers emphatically silenced the doubters and the Houston Rockets, winning Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals 89-70 on Sunday. With Gasol scoring 21 points and grabbing 18 rebounds, the Lakers looked like the conference’s top-seeded team, not the maddeningly inconsistent one that was pushed to the decisive final game by the undermanned Rockets. The Lakers dominated the paint on both ends, forcing the Rockets into turnovers and bad shots, and owning the backboards. They had an 8-0 lead a few minutes in and widened it to 25 points on Gasol’s jump hook shortly before halftime… Trevor Ariza scored 15 points while Bryant and Andrew Bynum 14 apiece. Bryant added five assists and seven rebounds. Aaron Brooks scored 13 and Luis Scola 11 for Houston. Ron Artest (seven points) and Shane Battier (three) were non-factors.
NBA rescinds Kobe Bryant technical foul
The Orange County Register reports (via blog): Kobe Bryant got a break from the NBA on Friday when league officials rescinded the technical foul he was assessed in the second quarter of Thursday’s loss against the Houston Rockets. The Lakers had petitioned the league, according to Phil Jackson. Rockets guard Ron Artest and Bryant collided near the top of the arc as the Lakers star was attempting to slip by Artest without the ball shortly before halftime. Artest was called for a foul, while Bryant was hit with his fifth technical foul of the playoffs, bringing him to within two of being suspended for one game.
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Rockets force Game 7 with 95-80 win over Lakers
The AP reports: The Houston Rockets came up with one more stunning victory to set up a final showdown with the Los Angeles Lakers. Aaron Brooks scored 26 points, Luis Scola added 24 points and 12 rebounds, and the scrappy, undermanned Rockets pushed the top-seeded Lakers to the brink in their Western Conference semifinal series with a 95-80 win in Game 6 on Thursday night. Reserve Carl Landry scored 15 as the Rockets built another huge lead in the first half, then fought off a Lakers rally to force Game 7 on Sunday at the Staples Center. Kobe Bryant scored 32 and Pau Gasol added 14 for Los Angeles, which lost for only the third time in the last 18 games when it has a chance to close out a series… The Rockets came out dominant instead of demoralized on Thursday night. They put together a near carbon copy of the first half of Game 4, when they seemed to hit every open shot, smothered the Lakers on defense and built an 18-point halftime lead… The Rockets hit their last eight shots in the third quarter and took a 75-65 lead to the fourth. Landry drove down the lane for a one-handed dunk with 6:56 left to put Houston up 81-71 and Bryant checked in after a long rest. But Bryant missed four of his next six shots and Brooks scored eight points over the next five minutes to secure another surprise over the Western Conference’s top seed.
NBA Playoffs conference finals schedule
In the 2009 NBA Playoffs, the Nuggets will play the Lakers in the Western conference finals. And the Cavaliers will play the Magic in the East. Here are the updated schedules:
Nuggets vs Lakers Schedule
Game 1 – Tue May 19 Denver at L.A. Lakers 9:00PM ET ESPN/R
Game 2 – Thu May 21 Denver at L.A. Lakers 9:00PM ET ESPN/R
Game 3 – Sat May 23 L.A. Lakers at Denver 8:30PM ET ABC/R
Game 4 – Mon May 25 L.A. Lakers at Denver 9:00PM ET ESPN/R
Game 5 * Wed May 27 Denver at L.A. Lakers 9:00PM ET ESPN/R
Game 6 * Fri May 29 L.A. Lakers at Denver 9:00PM ET ESPN/R
Game 7 * Sun May 31 Denver at L.A. Lakers 8:30PM ET ABC/R
Cavs vs Magic Schedule
Game 1 – Wed May 20 Orlando at Cleveland 8:30PM ET TNT/R
Game 2 – Fri May 22 Orlando at Cleveland 8:30PM ET TNT/R
Game 3 – Sun May 24 Cleveland at Orlando 8:30PM ET TNT/R
Game 4 – Tue May 26 Cleveland at Orlando 8:30PM ET TNT/R
Game 5 * Thu May 28 Orlando at Cleveland 8:30PM ET TNT/R
Game 6 * Sat May 30 Cleveland at Orlando 8:30PM ET TNT/R
Game 7 * Mon June 1 Orlando at Cleveland 8:30PM ET TNT/R
*The final three games of each series are “if necessary.”
Useful playoff stats and info
This will be the Lakers 46th Game 6. The Lakers are 26-19 in Game 6 (any round) all-time. In series that go at least six games, the Lakers are 33-12 all-time (28-12 Los Angeles, 5-0 Minneapolis). When winning Game 6, the Lakers are 23-3 all-time (20-3 Los Angeles, 3-0 Minneapolis). When losing Game 6, the Lakers are 10-9 all-time (8-9 Los Angeles, 2-0 Minneapolis). When leading a series 3-2, the Lakers are 30-4 (any round) all-time (25-4 Los Angeles, 5-0 Minneapolis).
So far, there have been 14 playoff games decided by three or fewer points. All time, the most games decided by three points or less in an entire postseason were 19 in 2006.
Boston’s Glen Davis is averaging 16.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 37.8 minutes during the playoffs after averaging 7.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 21.5 minutes during the regular season’
The Nuggets have advanced to the Western Conference finals for the third time in franchise history and the first time since 1985.
Chauncey Billups is going to the conference finals for the seventh consecutive postseason. Only four other players since 1970 have advanced to seven or more consecutive conference finals (Magic Johnson, Michael Cooper, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Kurt Rambis — all Lakers). He is 17-4 all-time in close-out games in his career.
Dirk Nowitzki finished the series with Denver averaging 34.4 points, 11.6 rebounds and shot 53.4 percent from the floor. He is the fifth player since the merger (1976-77) to average 30-plus points, 10-plus rebounds and shoot 50-plus percent and lose a best-of-7 series.
In Houston’s two playoff series, the team that has led after the first quarter has now won all 11 games.
Cleveland is 8-0 this postseason, winning every game by at least 10 in sweeping both the Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks. The only other team to sweep the first two rounds of the playoffs since the NBA went to an opening best-of-seven format in 2003 is the 2005 Miami Heat. The Cavs have also won each of their eight games by 10 or more points, setting the NBA postseason record for consecutive playoff wins by double digits, surpassing the 2004 Indiana Pacers streak of six games. The Cavaliers have outrebounded their playoff opponents in every game, have never trailed at halftime and have not surrendered 100 points yet in the postseason.
–NBA News
History favors Lakers, Celtics tonight
With history’s good angel perched comfortably on their shoulders, the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers have to feel pretty good about their chances of advancing to the conference finals as they enjoy 3-2 series leads.
The Celtics can close out their series tonight in Orlando against the Magic (7 p.m. ET, ESPN), while the Lakers look to advance in the second game as they visit the Houston Rockets (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).
All time in best-of-sevens, the team with a 3-2 series lead is 122-102 (.545) in Game 6. Overall, the team with a 3-2 lead is 192-32 (.857) in those series.
The last team to advance after trailing a series 3-2 was the San Antonio Spurs in last year’s Playoffs. The Spurs were down to the New Orleans Hornets 3-2 in the Western Conference Semifinals before winning Game 6 at home and clinching on the road.
The Celtics are a perfect 32-0 in series in which they’ve led 3-2. Since the assemblage of the Big Three in Boston, the Celtics have posted a 2-3 record in Game 6s, going 2-2 in last season’s run to banner No. 17. Both Game 6 setbacks, however, came on the road: at Atlanta, 103-100, in the first round; and at Cleveland, 74-69, in the conference semis.
The Lakers, for their part, have had recent success in these types of situations, winning their last four “close-out” games in the playoffs, and 15 times in their last 17 opportunities dating back to 2001. Overall, under head coach Phil Jackson, the Lakers are now 20-10 in close-out games. The Lakers have won 25 of their last 26 series when holding the opportunity to close out at any point. Their last series loss when having a close-out game came in 2006 when the Lakers squandered a 3-1 series lead against the Phoenix Suns. Prior to that, the Lakers had not lost a series when having a close-out game since the 1993 First Round vs. Phoenix in which they led 2-0 before losing the next three.
–NBA News