Game 7: Lakers vs Suns

[Kori Ellis]

:angel

[1Parker1]

Suns win easily. They now have the momemtum, confidence, homecourt advantage, and a pissed off Raja Bell back. Lakers don't stand a chance :pctoss

Stupid Lakers, they had me caught up in the hype and looking forward to an LA-LA matchup. Should have known better,

[batman2883]

lakers win kobe score 60 points

[1Parker1]

lakers win kobe score 60 points


I think it's been proven that Kobe scoring 50, 60+ points is not going to help them win against the Lakers. See Game 6, and the regular season games between the teams for further proof.

They need to stick with the original plan of getting the ball down low to Odom, Brown, or Walton since Suns have no one down low to counteract them. Besides, it'll be hard for Kobe to get 60 tommorow with a pissed off Raja Bell on him :lol

[DisgruntledLionFan#54,927]

I think it's been proven that Kobe scoring 50, 60+ points is not going to help them win against the Lakers. See Game 6, and the regular season games between the teams for further proof.

They need to stick with the original plan of getting the ball down low to Odom, Brown, or Walton since Suns have no one down low to counteract them. Besides, it'll be hard for Kobe to get 60 tommorow with a pissed off Raja Bell on him :lol

Jumping off the bandwagon already?





:fro

[redman]

I hate the Lakers. Koby is an ass. why the NBA keeps making him their darlin is beyond me. Yeah, he's good, but they need to drug-test him. He thinks no matter what he does, he's above reproach. I applaud Raja for speaking out and taking him down. I hope they do it again, and again and again. :elephant

[1Parker1]

Jumping off the bandwagon already?





:fro

:lol Hell yea! I knew it was a mistake to root for them to begin with. Although, I'm still standing by Odom (he's been great this series).

[DisgruntledLionFan#54,927]

:lol Hell yea! I knew it was a mistake to root for them to begin with. Although, I'm still standing by Odom (he's been great this series).


Typical Laker fan...

[1Parker1]

Typical Laker fan...

:lmao :flipoff I can't believe you called me a Laker fan...take it back!

[JamStone]

In his own warped way, I think Kobe wanted the game 7 in Phoenix and the chance to win with Raja Bell actually playing.

[1Parker1]

In his own warped way, I think Kobe wanted the game 7 in Phoenix and the chance to win with Raja Bell actually playing.

:lol I doubt it. Even Kobe is smart enough to realize that the odds of winning a Game 7 on the road against a 2 seed is going to be hard.

[DisgruntledLionFan#54,927]

:lmao :flipoff I can't believe you called me a Laker fan...take it back!


I digress...

Typical PSEUDO-Laker fan....

[JamStone]

I'm not saying he outright wanted a game 7. But, like I said, in his own warped way, he doesn't mind going to a game 7 because the glory will be all the greater, the stage even bigger, the moment even more phenomenal if he and his Lakers are able to win game 7 in Phoenix.

[ducks]

has kobe ever won a game 7 on the road

he has to do it for his ego

[J.T.]

Lakers win. Solid team effort from everyone. All starters in double figs. Kobe has 19.

[Texas_Ranger]

Suns 122
Lakers 113

[Spurologist]

Fakers are taking this. Book it. Bank it. Eat it. Shit it.

Fuck it. The fakers will win.

[1Parker1]

Fakers are taking this. Book it. Bank it. Eat it. Shit it.

Fuck it. The fakers will win.

:lol Didn't you say that yesterday?

Suns are taking this. Book it. Bank it. Eat it. S$# it. :)

[baseline bum]

LA is done. All they had to do to win that series was to guard the 3-point line the final 10 seconds of game 6, and they failed miserably.

The Suns are a vastly superior team with home court and their best defender and shooter back. RIP, Laker season, and Clippers in 6 over Phoenix. If Luke Walton and Kwame Brown destroyed them so badly inside, wait until we see Elton Brand and Chris Kamen.

[Rynospursfan]

The Clippers will beat either of these teams so I don't think matters much but I still hope its a close game. Got my Vbucks on the Suns but I wouldn't be surprised if #24 threw a monkey wrench in my plans.

[TurkishTimDuncan]

I thinks so Suns beat lakers but after that L.A clippers sweep suns. We will draw clippers in west finals

[J.T.]

Lakers win off Nash TO and Kobe buzzer beater

[Dunc]

In his own warped way, I think Kobe wanted the game 7 in Phoenix and the chance to win with Raja Bell actually playing.

Yeah, he's superman and he knows it. He probably did do this on purpose, lol.

[1Parker1]

Lakers win off Nash TO and Kobe buzzer beater

:lol Ummm, already happened.

[ShoogarBear]

I'm all in on the Lake Show, baybee.

Phyllis is 14-0 in the first round.

[ShoogarBear]

David Dupress just said about Kwame Brown: "How do you have arms with no hands at the end of them?"

[Amuseddaysleeper]

has kobe ever won a game 7 on the road

he has to do it for his ego


he did against the Kings in 2002

[angel_luv]

Anyone besides me watching the Suns and Lakers playing a game seven and thanking God that is not us? :)

[Amuseddaysleeper]

man angel luv, as much as people love game 7's, last years game 7 in the finals was WAY too stressful for me!!


I can enjoy it when it's someone else's game 7 fo sho! :spin

[Pistons < Spurs]

well this is not a good start for the Lakers.............

[bonesinaz]

lakers now down by 17.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

i'll be amazed if the laker can keep this game within 20 points by the time the final horn sounds


shoulda closed it out in 6

[bonesinaz]

Barbosa has really improved this year.

[bonesinaz]

no D in this game.

[bonesinaz]

Barbosa fouled shooting a 3!!!!!!! :lol :lol

[greyforest]

lakers are getting assraped

QUICK start a "kobe crying" vbookie!!

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/graphics/art3/kobeinside.jpg

[J.T.]

lotta clock left, down 15 is nothing when you've got kobe on your team

[bonesinaz]

Kobe will start trying to win this game by himself and when he does that---it is OVER for the lakers.

[1Parker1]

:depressed :flipoff Suns

[J.T.]

What was the crowd saying when Kwame was shooting FTs? "Kobe sucks"?

[Amuseddaysleeper]

if im the lakers, im jus happy i can cut this down to 10 as horrific as we're playing. however the lakers are just over matched

[Amuseddaysleeper]

What was the crowd saying when Kwame was shooting FTs? "Kobe sucks"?
yes

which is why kobe had his hand near his ear :lol

[bonesinaz]

Suns assists 10
lakers 2

[J.T.]

This game is over unless Nash is injured and doesn't play in the 2nd half.

[1Parker1]

No one aside from Kobe can hit a shot. Odom, Smush, and Kwame are combined for 16 points on 6-17 shooting. Plus, they don't even have a great rebounding edge against a soft Suns team. :pctoss

[bonesinaz]

Suns have 3 more rebounds than the lakers at the half.

[1Parker1]

I KNEW a team with Smush Parker, Kwame Brown, and Luke Walton as your starters wouldn't go anywhere (Memo to Spurologist and Horry for 3!) :lol

[J.T.]

Yeah Kwame is missing a lot of 2ft hooks, you gotta make that shit Kwame. If that continues, Lakers are doomed. Only thing that can save them now is a 50 point 2nd half by #8

[Horry For 3!]

Lakers are suckin....

I don't know if my prediction of Lakers vs Clippers will go through

Lakers better step it up in the 2nd half

[Tanya]

God. The lakers are pathetic~ Kobe has scored 23 points but his team is down by 15. I don't hate Kobe. He is absolutely amazing and watching him playing is always exciting. He deserves better teammates man.
But who cares, he's got three rings at this age. And the two time MVP Nash has nothing.

[Horry For 3!]

has kobe ever won a game 7 on the road

he has to do it for his ego
He is 2-0 in game 7s

[bonesinaz]

He is 2-0 in game 7s

With Shaq.

[Horry For 3!]

With Shaq.
Yeah but still doesn't change the fact that he is 2-0 in game 7s.

[bonesinaz]

Yeah but still doesn't change the fact that he is 2-0 in game 7s.

Oh OK. :lol :lol

[Spurologist]

I said the fakers would win and I am still not changing my mind

[Leetonidas]

Lakers down 17. Not looking good.

[J.T.]

Kwame Brown,
http://home.comcast.net/~sauce1977/stop_sucking.jpg

[1Parker1]

I said the fakers would win and I am still not changing my mind

Only way they'll win is if Kobe goes for 82. Suns playing their running style game, and Lakers missing easy shots at the other end is a bad combination.

[1Parker1]

Lakers,
http://home.comcast.net/~sauce1977/stop_sucking.jpg

:lol Fixed.

[Josh810]

I have never seen anyboy miss as many 3 ft. chip shots as Kwame Brown has done. He has been absolutely terrible.

[1Parker1]

LUKE WALTON is sucking big time. I hope his dad's watching the game.

[Spurologist]

I said the fakers would win and I am still not changing my mind

ughgh Game Over

[1Parker1]

ughgh Game Over

:lol 73-52. Makes you wonder how the Lakers managed to get a 3-1 lead to begin with.

[1Parker1]

I really, really, really hope the Suns get swept by the Clips.

[bonesinaz]

Luke slides into the paint. :lol
Everything that can go wrong for the lakers is going wrong. Later Kobe will cry.

[bonesinaz]

I really, really, really hope the Suns get swept by the Clips.

I say clips in 5.

[J.T.]

:lol 73-52. Makes you wonder how the Lakers managed to get a 3-1 lead to begin with.

Refs didn't call foul on Walton in that first OT game?

[1Parker1]

If 1Parker1 is even remotely attractive, she gets a 10 in my book for her knowledge of basketball.

:lol Thanks...I think.

Lamar Odom is about to lose his newest fan. :angel

[1Parker1]

Hey 1Parker1, you up for making a video sometime?


:lol Is this Mouse?

[J.T.]

2005-2006 LA Lakers:

http://xyberfreeza.homestead.com/files/choke.JPG

[Horry For 3!]

Lakers can't make shit and Suns can't miss

[bonesinaz]

Barbosa is killing the lakers. I really like that kid. I am happy for him. Now
Bell for 3----Suns up by 25.

[bonesinaz]

2005-2006 LA Lakers:

http://xyberfreeza.homestead.com/files/choke.JPG

That is beautiful.

[1Parker1]

Ohhh, now Bell's just flat out embarassing them with that 3 pointer.

[Spurologist]

:lol 73-52. Makes you wonder how the Lakers managed to get a 3-1 lead to begin with.

It's all about the fast break. The suns have gotton better game by game in that phase. Sad. The fakers are living by their name.

[1Parker1]

Lakers really really really need to re-work their roster in the offseason. If I were them, I'd trade away my entire roster (minus Kobe of course) for KG. KG + Kobe has got to be better than the Lakers current starting 4 players combined. :lol

[1Parker1]

It's all about the fast break. The suns have gotton better game by game in that phase. Sad. The fakers are living by their name.

That's part of it. Lakers are just missing A LOT of easy, open shots at the other end. If they had made those, this game would be a lot closer than it is. If I were Kobe, I'd say "F-It, I'm going for 81, what have I got to lose at this point?" :smokin

[1Parker1]

Hey! I just realized I won a $112 back in vbookie for guessing the Spurs in 6! Go me! :elephant

[Horry For 3!]

Damnnnnnnnnnnn, Lakers 4 for 23 from 3 pt range

[Spurologist]

That's part of it. Lakers are just missing A LOT of easy, open shots at the other end. If they had made those, this game would be a lot closer than it is. If I were Kobe, I'd say "F-It, I'm going for 81, what have I got to lose at this point?" :smokin

:lol That's also part of the reason they blow their 3-1 lead. Fakers play better when kobe scores less. 25-30.

[Horry For 3!]

Lakers down by 25 pts.....ouch

[1Parker1]

:lol That's also part of the reason they blow their 3-1 lead. Fakers play better when kobe scores less. 25-30.

Yea, but at this point at least it will keep them from getting embarrassed. No one else on the team can hit a shot to save their life today. Might as well have Kobe go for 50 to make their final score respectable. :)

[Spurologist]

Sasha should have started over that smushed banana.

[J.T.]

We're looking at a 30 point blowout. Way to miss making playoff history Kobe, that LA-LA series would have been
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/123steph/south-park-kick-ass-2-37002441.jpg

[Spurologist]

Yea, but at this point at least it will keep them from getting embarrassed. No one else on the team can hit a shot to save their life today. Might as well have Kobe go for 50 to make their final score respectable. :)

nah. Kobe will probably cry anyway

[1Parker1]

Sasha should have started over that smushed banana.

Not a bad idea....too little too late now, I guess.

[bonesinaz]

Playoff history is being made! Phil Jackson's team in the process of being eliminated in the 1st round. :smokin

[1Parker1]

Well, I'm out.

Go Clipps, beat those Suns! :elephant

[J.T.]

Smush Parker,
http://forums.autoweek.com/servlet/JiveServlet/download/31-25380-577189-26576/Dude%20WTF.gif

[DDS4]

Mercy rule.

[J.T.]

Barbosa playing out of his mind right now.

[Vinnie_Johnson]

I would like to up my bet now. I feel good that The Suns are going to hold on.

[Spurologist]

Phil Jackson might need some nyquil after tonight because it's the nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy head, fever so you can rest and have a good morning medicine

[bonesinaz]

30 point lead now. I am falling asleep.

[J.T.]

http://www.pdkwheels.com/IMAGES/Bargain-Blowout-Image.jpg

[Vinnie_Johnson]

Phil Jackson might need some nyquil after tonight because it's the nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy head, fever so you can rest and have a good morning medicine

:lol :lol So true he is going to get stoned after this one.

[bonesinaz]

Send in the dog whisperer.

[Horry For 3!]

Lakers choke away a 3-1 series lead

[J.T.]

I guess Nash won his MVP back after game 4.

[Vinnie_Johnson]

Time for Kenny to start the boat.

[J.T.]

http://www.lmalla.com/storage/miscpics/owned.jpg
http://www.oohshiny.net/gallery/d/92-2/owned-birdshit.jpg
http://lglan.net/vbdump/tribal/2001_justin-owned.jpg
http://www.gabor-nagy.com/pwned.jpg

and that's it for JT's Pictures tonight.

[angel_luv]

What a night!

I just got back from Walmart where I serendipitously found a pair of much needed work shoes that are so comfortable for $ 8 bucks.

And the Lakers lost!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Yipee!!!!!!!!!! :elephant

[angel_luv]

Oh my gosh I won V-Bookie! Yea baby!

[angel_luv]

Rock!

A reporter just asked Kobe about Bell's defensive contribution.

Kobe: I don't really think about Bell when it comes to defense. I really don't. It;s not like he is Bruce Bowen :D or something. "


:elephant

[JMarkJohns]

He's not Bruce Bowen, but unlike Kobe, he and his team are advancing to the second round. KOBE needs to man up and bite his tongue or he'll forever be viewed as the bitch who got his goat stoled...

[ducks]

did you really think it would take 7 games to get past the lakers?

[td4mvp21]

He's not Bruce Bowen, but unlike Kobe, he and his team are advancing to the second round. KOBE needs to man up and bite his tongue or he'll forever be viewed as the bitch who got his goat stoled...

Ah, the Suns fans are back! :lol

[ManuTim_best of Fwiendz]

Ah, the Suns fans are back! :lol

Nice...They're game was solid all the way through. Way to make KOBE CRY AGAIN! BWAHAHAHA...

but yeah their defense was pretty loose, Seeing Amare and Kurt Thomas on teh sidelines is kind of scary....

But I'm sure the Clippers will rough up the Suns more than the Lakers. Nash is still gonna be hanging around Kobe's playground :lol.

[ManuTim_best of Fwiendz]

He's not Bruce Bowen, but unlike Kobe, he and his team are advancing to the second round. KOBE needs to man up and bite his tongue or he'll forever be viewed as the bitch who got his goat stoled...
Dude Kobe's got no class. He just walked out and didn't shake hands while Phil and some other Lakers stayed and congratulated the Suns.

[Timothy Dunkan]

This was one of easiest to call, too bad you can only bet once, I could have been VGazillionaire by now.

I'm really for happy for the Suns.
Fuck KoMe

[JMarkJohns]

Ah, the Suns fans are back! :lol

Go fuck yourself dude, I've never left.

Check post count, moron...

Scoreboard, ME...

Now contrbute or STFU...

I said the Suns would struggle in the first round a while back. This series didn't surprise me, save for Nash's inability to idendify a half-court trap in game four and Kwame's unexpected play...

Please, pull your head out your ass, check a few threads, find that I've been here along, sometimes supportive, sometimes critical...

You did get one thing right.

I'm here...

[J.T.]

Clips got a chance at beating the Suns but the Suns have been playing in Staples for 2 weeks so HCA is a non factor now.

[JMarkJohns]

I think the Clippers beat the Suns in five games if Kurt Thomas doesn't come back.

If Thomas returns by game four, I think a Suns win is possible, but unlikely.

Brand is a monster. More so against the Suns, who will need everyone to hit their shots for this series to be competative.

Marion thought Odom was a handful?

[greyforest]

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/graphics/art3/kobeinside.jpghttp://www.thesmokinggun.com/graphics/art3/kobeinside.jpg
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/graphics/art3/kobeinside.jpghttp://www.thesmokinggun.com/graphics/art3/kobeinside.jpg
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/graphics/art3/kobeinside.jpghttp://www.thesmokinggun.com/graphics/art3/kobeinside.jpg

[ducks]

Dude Kobe's got no class. He just walked out and didn't shake hands while Phil and some other Lakers stayed and congratulated the Suns.

would you after what bell did and then what nash said publically about it

[Horry For 3!]

Go fuck yourself dude, I've never left.

Check post count, moron...

Scoreboard, ME...

Now contrbute or STFU...

I said the Suns would struggle in the first round a while back. This series didn't surprise me, save for Nash's inability to idendify a half-court trap in game four and Kwame's unexpected play...

Please, pull your head out your ass, check a few threads, find that I've been here along, sometimes supportive, sometimes critical...

You did get one thing right.

I'm here...
I remember you saying that the Suns would have a hard time and may even lose.

[trueD]

Rock!

A reporter just asked Kobe about Bell's defensive contribution.

Kobe: I don't really think about Bell when it comes to defense. I really don't. It;s not like he is Bruce Bowen :D or something. "


:elephantWith all due respect, here is the true quote:

"I don't really think about bell when it comes to defensiveness (<<<yeah, he actually said defensiveness :lol). I really don't. It's not like he is Bruce Bowen :D or Ron Artest or something. "

[JMarkJohns]

I remember you saying that the Suns would have a hard time and may even lose.

I didn't think they'd lose vs. the Lakers. I thought they would against the Kings, but I knew they would stuggle vs. both.

I'm not here for that I i'm not going to toot my own horn...


I'm thankful the Suns advanced. I'm glad those two lapses of Nash's didn't cost them this series and him some respect from around the League.

He's a great player and a good leader and his will helped this team battle.

he wouldn't let them die.



As for my response to that Spurs fan, I apologize. I'm not going here to pick fights. Good luck vs. the Mavs, though I'll probably be rooting for Dallas in the insane hope the Suns can advance.

Either way, it was a great, hard-fought series and anyone who says the Suns didn't deserve the win is crazy (some Lakers fans are saying the Lakers just gave the Suns the game)...

That's complete crap. Suns took this one, from the opening minute onward...

[trueD]

Dude Kobe's got no class. He just walked out and didn't shake hands while Phil and some other Lakers stayed and congratulated the Suns.Kobme only scoring edit: 1 point in the 2nd half just REEKS of more drama in LaLaLand, you gotta love it. That is if you hate the Lakers as much as I do.

Kobe said the rest of the team has to learn to "step up" in crucial game situations (though I doubt he knows to use the word crucial, :lol).

Kobme: "I'm not gonna shoot any baskets in the 2nd half because __________________ (fill in the blank). THEN I'm gonna slam my teammates during the post game press conference for not stepping up."

Classic.

[Vashner]

Darnit I wanted Nash to go home.

[ManuTim_best of Fwiendz]

would you after what bell did and then what nash said publically about it
You suck up your pride, and go the extra mile, this is the stuff they teach you in little league, to high school, even if you feel like shit you congratulate the winner...no excuse..

Just because someone treats you bad, doesn't mean you want to play at that level. That Bell stuff is irrelevant. Kobe is a playoff veteran and the established leader of his team...

That is one thing sports fans can appreciate from the NBA playoffs is that usually in the final game of a series, players show sportsmanship and congratulate the opponent regardless of personal sentiments. It speaks about the game and the player's respect for it. This is the first fucking round, not the Finals. Kobe thinks he's the only on the court? The Pistons at least congratulated the Spurs in the Finals. THat hurt way more...The least the players do, at the very least just tap hands, without eye contact, while they walk off...Kobe didn't even do that. Egocentric prick. Save the apologetic bullshit.

He did the same thing to the Pistons in 2004.

[ManuTim_best of Fwiendz]

Kobme only scoring edit: 1 point in the 2nd half just REEKS of more drama in LaLaLand, you gotta love it. That is if you hate the Lakers as much as I do.

Kobe said the rest of the team has to learn to "step up" in crucial game situations (though I doubt he knows to use the word crucial, :lol).

Kobme: "I'm not gonna shoot any baskets in the 2nd half because __________________ (fill in the blank). THEN I'm gonna slam my teammates during the post game press conference for not stepping up."

Classic.
He did it to prove a point. "The team lives and dies through me." Whatever. I think Phil said something to him or something got him mad. Or a teammate pissed him off... I don't know. when I was watching in the first half, I was being wowwed by his impossible shots, and he kept it in close by 12 points at least....Then he disappears in the second half, and takes 3 whole shots? I know there's trying to involve your teammates, but he just quit by 3rd quarter? Kobe confuses me...I understand taking 20 more shots and losing, is trying to win the wrong way. And him taking 10 and passing and losing is trying to win the right way...But you fucking disappear? FOr whatever heady reason in a game 7 not even to show a losing effort, but no effort. WTF Kobe? You ARE NO MJ!

I was about to respect him for the first 4 games of the Suns series with his 25 avg and 6 assists team play...but I guess once his teammates don't show up for a minute, he gives up on them. Passing out the ball and refusing to shoot, and kicking out the ball to create are two different things. Some leader.

[BillsCarnage]

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/graphics/art3/kobeinside.jpghttp://www.thesmokinggun.com/graphics/art3/kobeinside.jpg


:lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao

[A-Train]

Maybe Kobe can play butt pirate with another unwilling psycho teen this summer. Thank God I don't have to engage in some creative rationalization to justify cheering for that piece of shit.

[JMarkJohns]

Maybe Kobe can play butt pirate with another unwilling psycho teen this summer. Thank God I don't have to engage in some creative rationalization to justify cheering for that piece of shit.

Post of the day.

Just two years ago Kobe was hated enemy (not to mention jackass #1) and now, because the MVP was awarded to a not-as-deserving player in Nash, dozens of Spurs fans sell their fandom out to root for the schmuck?

What's that all about?

Hell, I couldn't even root for players like Elie, Horry and Cassell when they were Suns... Makes no GD sense at all...

[ManuTim_best of Fwiendz]

Post of the day.

Just two years ago Kobe was hated enemy (not to mention jackass #1) and now, because the MVP was awarded to a not-as-deserving player in Nash, dozens of Spurs fans sell their fandom out to root for the schmuck?

What's that all about?

Hell, I couldn't even root for players like Elie, Horry and Cassell when they were Suns... Makes no GD sense at all...
I don't get it either...

What's even funnier is that the local LA reporter just recounted that the Lakers got a little too overconfident after game 4...and when he talked to Kobe after Game 5 loss, "do you think the Suns could try and take this series back and take it to a game 7"

and the reporter said Kobe's response was that he just laughed at the notion..The dude fucking laughed, and any comeback was out of the question in his mind.

Way to show your teammates how to approach a playoff series, being an overconfident jackass. Being up 3-1, you don't relax and expect to win.. YOU KILL. MJ would have killed Steve Nash 4-1, by tuesday. The reporter also pointed out that the Lakers were hanging out on Tuesday casually. It showed on the Loss that night. He deserves to lose this series cuz he's partly responsible for influencing his teammates to treat the series against the Suns lightly. FUCK KOBE.
__________________

[JMarkJohns]

Kobe = over-confident, self-promoting jackass

Great player, but I'd never root for him. Hell, I nearly went crazy when the Suns went after him. While I understood it from a basketball standpoint, it, like Horry and Elie, was going to be a hard pill to swallow.

[KingsFanWithoutName]

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/graphics/art3/kobeinside.jpghttp://www.thesmokinggun.com/graphics/art3/kobeinside.jpg
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/graphics/art3/kobeinside.jpghttp://www.thesmokinggun.com/graphics/art3/kobeinside.jpg
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/graphics/art3/kobeinside.jpghttp://www.thesmokinggun.com/graphics/art3/kobeinside.jpgIt was better to see that, than this......................



http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y59/underseth/kobe.jpg

[ManuTim_best of Fwiendz]

It was better to see that, than this......................



http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y59/underseth/kobe.jpg
haha, he's already on first base with that douche, Brian Cook in that pic...I dont' wanna know what he would have done to the Lakers scrubs if they took game 7.... :oops

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y174/johngpeppers/KobeMakeoutsession.jpg

[boutons_]

May 7, 2006

Suns 121, Lakers 90

Back From Brink, Phoenix Turns Los Angeles Into One-Team Town

By HOWARD BECK

PHOENIX, May 6 — Southern California's basketball hierarchy was shaken up Saturday night in the Arizona desert.

Phil Jackson and Kobe Bryant, who reunited to restore the glory of the Los Angeles Lakers, are out of the playoffs. The pug-nosed Los Angeles Clippers — for the first time in their history — have outlasted their glamour-boy rivals. And to the chagrin of Los Angeles marketers and fans, there will be no Hallway Series at the Staples Center, thanks to the timely rebirth of the Phoenix Suns.

Left for dead, or at least maimed, after losing the All-Star Amare Stoudemire to off-season knee surgery, the Suns made a stand Saturday night. They closed out an edgy seven-game series with a 121-90 rout of the Lakers at the US Airways Center. The Suns now face the Clippers in a Western Conference semifinal series that opens here Monday night.

True to the character that carried them to the Western Conference finals a year ago, the Suns were a picture of balance in Game 7. Seven players scored in double figures, led by the youngsters Leandro Barbosa (26 points) and Boris Diaw (21). Steve Nash, the N.B.A.'s reigning most valuable player, added 13 points and 9 assists while playing on a slightly sprained right ankle.

After turning over much of the roster, then losing Stoudemire and his replacement, Kurt Thomas, the Suns were hardly expected to be here. After losing Game 4 of this series on a pair of controversial calls and two amazing shots by Bryant, the Suns trailed, 3-1. They became just the eighth team to win a series after trailing by 3-1 and the third to win after losing three straight games.

"I just think it's the heart and perseverance of our guys just to overcome Game 4, thinking that we had been slighted and thinking that, you know what, we tried to do the right thing and we kept getting hit," Coach Mike D'Antoni said. "And they had just had enough. Whether they turned it on or thought about it consciously, I don't know. But from that moment, we played the way we played all year."

In other words, they ran the Lakers into the sand. The Suns hit the 100-point mark in all four of their victories in the series but missed it in their three losses while the Lakers successfully pounded the ball inside to Kwame Brown, Lamar Odom and Luke Walton. But Phoenix adjusted, denied the post and watched the Lakers offensive flow dissolve. Odom had just 12 points in the series finale. Brown had 8 points.

"We had jitters today," Jackson said. "Our guys were fumbling the ball, not catching the ball, not shooting the ball in the lane with that kind of decisiveness that had made us good."

And when the Lakers needed to be bailed out, Bryant chose not to. After a record-setting season in which he scored 81 points in one game, 62 in another and averaged 34.5 points, Bryant never turned on the jets with his season on the line. Of his 24 points, just 1 came in the second half. He took just three shots in the final 24 minutes.

It was a curious end to what had been his finest season as a scorer and showman.

"If we were going to get back in this type of a game, we had to have everybody contributing," said Bryant, who scored 50 points in the Lakers' Game 6 loss.

Bryant kept the Lakers alive after they fell behind by 19 points in the first half. He hit four 3-pointers in an 18-point second quarter, but the Lakers never got closer than 9. The Suns led, 60-45, at halftime.

It was a bad omen for the Lakers. They grabbed control of this series by turning Bryant into a maestro playmaker, and getting their points from Odom, Brown, Walton, Smush Parker and Brian Cook.

But Bryant's supporting cast, already wilting in Games 5 and 6, faded further under the Game 7 spotlight. It is a time-tested N.B.A. truism that experience matters most in the playoffs, and matters more the deeper a team goes.

"It's all growth for us; it's all evolution," said Bryant, the only playoff-hardened veteran in the rotation. "At the start of the season, nobody expected us to even be here. The growth that we have, the talent that we have, the upside is good."

Jackson, who returned to coach the Lakers last summer after a one-year hiatus, felt the sting of a rebuilding project. He had been 14-0 in first-round series and 44-0 when leading a series in any round.

"It's a shame we couldn't give them a game today and make this a series that it was, memorable," Jackson said.

He did not question Bryant's passive stance in the second half as the Suns pulled away to a 33-point lead.

"I'm sure Kobe could have screwed up a 50-point game, but that wasn't going to put us in the ballgame," Jackson said. "It had to be a team effect to win this game. I trust his judgment in that ballgame."

So it went. The Lakers could go as far as the kids could take them, and they hit their ceiling hard. Brown missed repeatedly from point-blank range in the first half, going 1 for 6. Walton and Parker shot a combined 3 for 10 in the half. Bryant accounted for 23 of the Lakers' 45 points.

The Suns' youngsters, meanwhile, thrived in the spotlight. Barbosa had a 9-point burst in the second quarter, causing D'Antoni to make this assessment: "Leandro for about 10 minutes tonight was probably the fastest guy on Earth. I've never seen it like that, how fast he was. He was going so fast, I don't think he could catch his breath. He was gone."

And just like that, so were the Lakers.

Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company

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