Bryant’s Big Shot Gives Lakers 3-1 Lead Over Suns
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The Los Angeles Lakers may no longer be a one-man team, but they know where to go with the ball when the game is on the line.
Kobe Bryant’s 17-foot jumper as time expired in overtime gave the Lakers an improbable 99-98 victory over the Phoenix Suns yesterday and a 3-1 lead in the first round playoff series.
The Suns appeared to have the game won late in the fourth quarter and again in overtime, but the Lakers took advantage of two critical mistakes by Phoenix star Steve Nash. Nash made a 3-pointer with 50 seconds left in overtime to give the Suns a 98-95 lead. Bryant’s layup with 11.7 seconds to go drew the Lakers within one point, and Luke Walton tied Nash up with 6.1 seconds left.
Walton won the tip, with Bryant chasing the ball down near the scorer’s table and then dribbling to the right corner of the key, where his ninth field goal in 14 tries swished through cleanly.
Lamar Odom led the Lakers with 25 points, eight rebounds, and five assists. Bryant had 24 points and eight assists, Kwame Brown added 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Devean George scored 11.
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BULLS 93, HEAT 87 Kirk Hinrich scored 21 points and hit a key 3-pointer with 1:09 left to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 93-87 win over the Miami Heat, evening their first-round series at 2-2.
With Shaquille O’Neal in foul trouble for much of the game, the Bulls built a 13-point lead in the third quarter,only to fall behind in the fourth before pulling the game out.
Andres Nocioni led the Bulls with 24 points, and Ben Gordon scored 23. Hinrich had nine assists. Chicago’s Tyson Chandler was carried off the court with an ankle injury with 26.3 seconds left.
Antoine Walker scored 21 for the Heat, and Dwyane Wade finished with 20 on 8-of-23 shooting. But O’Neal had another rough game – with 16 points, eight rebounds, and four fouls.
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WIZARDS 106, CAVALIERS 96 With Le-Bron James suddenly quiet after a tremendous first half last night, Washington’s Gilbert Arenas recovered from an awful start to lead the Wizards’ comeback for a 106-96 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, tying the first-round series at 2-2.
Arenas scored 20 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter, making his first five shots of the period.That spurt ended with a 3-pointer that put Washington ahead 96-87 with under three minutes left.
James set franchise playoff records for points in a quarter (18) and half (25), but he took only three shots in the third quarter, missed all, and wound up with 38 points. – Associated Press
