Kobe is Clutch Once Again

We've seen this movie many times before.  What I want to know is how many more times is it going to happen?

For the third time in the last few weeks,Kobe Bryant hit a three-pointer at the buzzer as the Lakers steal another one from the Sacramento Kings 109 to 108.  Once again, the purple and gold got off to a slow start in the first half, down by as many as 20 points in the second quarter.  They would have to come out like gang busters in the second half to get back in it and like clockwork, they did. 

Lamar Odom and the rest the team decided to join the party in the third quarter as the Lakers fought their way back and made it a very entertaining game to say the least.  It quickly became a back and forth contest as Phil Jackson's squad kept trimming the deficit and finally tied it at 93.  It was soon after that the Black Mamba started "dancing" in an effort to will his team to another victory.  Many Laker fans, including myself, probably thought the game was all but over when Ime Udoka was headed to the free throw line to attempt two shots with Sacramento ahead 108 to 106.  To the Lakers delight, Udoka missed both free throws and the Lakers had a chance with a little over four seconds remaining.  Like many other situations, the Lakers turned to their go to guy in Bryant.  Bryant looked like he got away with a little push off to create some space in front of the Kings bench and the rest was history.  In what was actually a closer buzzer beater after looking at the replay, the Lakers stunned the Kings for the second time in a week despite Spencer Hawes career high 30 points and Omri Casspi's 23 points.

It looks like 2010 will be another good year for the Lakers, but for the sake of the fans, I hope they don't have rely on Kobe to bail them out each and every time.      

Photo courtesy:
Wikimedia Commons and michael248 under CC-SA 2.0 License
 

Lakers Survive in Double Overtime

One day after getting a beatdown from King James and the Cavaliers, the Lakers hit the road in Sacramento, minus Ron Artest who suffered a concussion after falling down some stairs at his home in Los Angeles.  If you missed most of the first three quarters, like I did, you didn't miss much of the action.

As it always seems to be, the Lakers were in a close one in the fourth quarter.  Toward the end of the fourth, Pau Gasol was fouled and had a chance to give the Lakers the lead with just under 24 seconds remaining.  In a rare occurrence, Gasol missed both free throws.  The Kings then had a chance to win it in regulation but Tyreke Evans was unable to get a shot off thanks to some stellar defense by Kobe Bryant.  Oh, and not to mention that Bryant suffered an elbow injury earlier in the game.  As many Laker fans know though, it takes a lot more than an elbow injury to keep Kobe from playing.

In the first overtime the Kings got off to a fast start with a 101 to 94 lead with a little over two minutes remaining.  The Lakers were seemingly on life support, but these are the Lakers.  They somehow managed to fight their way back to a 101 tie, forcing a second overtime.

The turning point in the second overtime was when Kobe Bryant, bad elbow and all, hit back-to-back three pointers to give the Lakers a 109 to 103 lead.  In the end, Bryant had 38 points and the Lakers shocked Kings fans with a 112 to 103 win.  It was somewhat hard to figure out who the Kings fans were because it seemed like there was a huge contingent of Laker fans in attendance.  It would make sense because they are the number one draw on the road and Sacramento isn't that far from Los Angeles.

The Lakers will stay on the road as they head for the scorching heat of the Phoenix desert to take on Steve Nash and the Suns tomorrow night.

Photo courtesy:
Wikimedia Commons and Keith Allison under CC-SA 2.0 License