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Say "Queensbridge," Lakers fans!!!



The Larry O'Brien remains in Los Angeles! More analysis and stats below.

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Kobe Bryant is a tough man to keep down.

Even in 2008, when Boston made his task so difficult even Sisyphus himself would have looked at him and thought, "Man, that's hard," Bryant still went off for a 36 point, 12-for-20 effort in Game 3. Through four games of this year's Finals, Bryant has hardly been invisible, but also not the otherworldly figure we saw through the first three rounds of the postseason.

Coming out of the half in Game 5, with his team down six, he was apparently ready for his closeup.

At the 10:42 mark of the third quarter, Bryant drilled a tough 15-footer for his first two points of the second half. Over the next 5:50, he'd add another 17, almost entirely off a dizzying array of jumpers. He nailed a spectacular runner, driving off the left hand, shooting back to his right. There was a three from somewhere in New Hampshire. Another with Ray Allen in his face, and a catch-and-shoot at the elbow with Allen on his hip. After struggling in the first half, hitting only four of his 12 attempts, Bryant was seven-for-nine in the third, the 19 points representing a high for any player in the 2010 Finals. In fact, Bryant scored 23 consecutive for the Lakers, dipping back into the end of the second quarter.

Dwyane Wade was picked up by the sideline camera, shaking his head in disbelief. It was classic Mamba. Except for one thing: The Lakers, down by 11 when Bryant began his assault, were still down by 11 just one possession after it ended. Despite all of Kobe's fireworks, the Lakers were giving up points in bunches at the other end. And in a completely appropriate contrast, Boston's points were decidedly easier to come by.

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With 8:36 to play in the fourth quarter of Game 4 at TD Banknorth Garden in Boston, Shannon Brown drove to the bucket, missing the layup inside. Pau Gasol grabbed the rebound, but before he could get the put-back out of his hands he was blocked by Ray Allen. The loose ball was tipped towards the arc by Tony Allen, then nearly picked off by a hustling Jordan Farmar, who skied up for the ball but instead landed with a thud on the parquet empty-handed.

Like much of the game to that point it was a sloppy sequence, but with all the effort demanded by the Finals. At different times through the first three games, each team has managed to win those little battles. This time, Glen Davis emerged with the ball, and fed to Ray Allen.

He took the ball up the left wing, and before Brown could set himself defensively, broke him down with the right-handed dribble through the lane. As the Lakers defense closed, one Allen dished to the other. Tony Allen missed wildly on his layup attempt, but Davis was there to grab the board. He powered up through Lamar Odom and scored, with the and one.

As the Garden crowd exploded, Davis moved towards halfcourt and let out a primal scream, a long stream of spittle (call it drool, if you'd like) bridging the space between his lips and jersey. Nate Robinson leaped on to his broad back, the lil' fella looking like one of those adorable, fuzzy animal backpacks elementary school kids carry around. And why not celebrate? Davis' tough finish inside gave Boston a six-point lead. After the free throw, it was seven.

Boston's signature moment came with a heavy side of saliva. Not that Davis cared. "When you're in the moment, you're in the moment," he smiled postgame press conference. "Slobber, snot, spit- please excuse me. Kids, don't do that. Have manners."

Good advice, though Davis certainly hadn't shown any towards the Lakers. It was his sixth point to that point in the quarter, two of his buckets coming off feeds from Nate Rob. Big Baby was everywhere, grabbing rebounds, powering through L.A.'s interior defense. "I just felt like a beast," Davis said. "I'm going to be honest with you all, I felt like I couldn't be denied. If a rebound was in my vicinity or if the ball was going to be laid up, I just felt like I couldn't be denied."

Looked that way, too.

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It takes a lot to reduce Kobe Bryant into just another guy setting screens, but Derek Fisher managed to get it done.

After building up a 17-point lead in the second quarter of their critical Game 3 matchup against the Boston Celtics at TD Banknorth Garden Tuesday night, it seemed like the Lakers were headed to the sort of dominant road victory with the potential to define a series. After the break, however, the Celtics cranked up their defense and the Lakers responded by hoisting up jumpers and moving very little in space. The results were predictably ugly.

When Rajon Rondo went from his three point line untouched for a layup at the other end, the once large lead was down to one with 9:45 to play.

Normally, this would be the time for Bryant to step up and will his team to victory... except he was part of the problem. Stuck on the perimeter, forcing jumpers.

Enter Fisher. Throughout the regular season, Fisher had been trailed by so many shovel-toting fans and media tossing dirt on him, he might as well have been working the garden department at his local Home Depot. His response was always the same- absorbing the criticism, pointing to a team (generally) succeeding on the floor, and noting his moment would come. And this postseason, just as it was against the Magic last year, Fisher has again proven himself a wise, wise man.

Between the 8:56 and 4:33 marks of the fourth quarter, Fisher scored eight of his team's 10 points, including a pair of clutch jumpers coming off the 1-2 screen with Kobe setting the pick. He would cap the game with a tremendous full court drive off a Ray Allen missed triple (one of eight Game 2's hero would clank on the night), dropping the layup through as he was being crushed by three Celtics. His free throw iced it, and the Lakers, just as quickly as they gave away their home court advantage, grabbed it back.

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"They" say a series doesn't start until one team wins on the other team's floor. I tend to think it starts at the beginning of Game 1, but either way "They" would now say this series has started.

Much, much more postgame analysis and video below...

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Second verse, not quite the same as the first...



Click below for the full breakdown and postgame video...

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Phil Jackson noted after a recent practice how a series "can turn on a trifle." Seemingly little things can change the outcome of a basketball game; the roundball version of the butterfly effect, if you will.

Saturday night we learned how events with absolutely zero subtlety can also change a game's direction. Like an incredibly stupid and juvenile flagrant foul by Sasha Vujacic on Goran Dragic.

The fellow Slovenians are apparently feuding -- gotta love bad blood between Euro reserves -- and Dragic mouthed off after hitting a jumper over Vujacic at the top of the fourth quarter. "The Machine" reacted as any professional with a modicum of self control would: He "accidentally" hit Dragic in the chin while "raising his arms in the air." Dragic predictably flopped and the referees predictably bought it. Dragic canned his pair of freebies, and then hit Phoenix's next shot as well.

What was suddenly a 15-point Lakers lead was quickly down to 11. What was once a dead U.S. Airways Center crowd was suddenly going bananas. Dragic and Amare Stoudemire then led a charge to get Phoenix to within five points with 5:36 remaining. A few more baskets were traded, then Steve Nash took a miss by Derek Fisher coast-to-coast and eventually waltzed through the lane for a layup.

2:18 on the clock. The Suns were within one of their trademark treys of knotting up what appeared a rout in the making. Lakers fans were nervous and Vujacic was about to enter a witness relocation program.

Thankfully, he plays for the team with Kobe Bryant on the roster.

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Wednesday afternoon at practice, Phil Jackson repeated one of his favorite expressions about the game, that everything can change "on a trifle." The small things can add up. Little moments turn into bigger ones. The same can be said for playoff runs. On the path to a championship, there are those moments able to turn history if they go the other way. If the Denver Nuggets can get the ball in bounds during last year's Western Conference Finals, or Courtney Lee doesn't blow a layup at the end of regulation in Game 2 of the Finals.

If, if, if...

These are plays more on the massive end of the Jackson Trifle Scale, but even they can, in the course of a 20-plus game playoff marathon, get lost in the fabric of things, obscured by the end result if it comes with a trophy.

The alchemy of dumb luck, dogged play, and fundamental breakdowns can turn a game, a series, and perhaps a run for a repeat. The Lakers saw it Oklahoma City, when Pau Gasol put back a Kobe Bryant miss to end the series at the buzzer in Game 6. Or in Game 3 in Utah, when a Wes Matthews tip in the final seconds didn't fall. And they had another one tonight, when Ron Artest made one of the fastest goat-to-hero swings in basketball history.

After Jason Richardson stunned the Staples crowd with a three-pointer off the glass, tying the game at 101 and finally erasing a Lakers lead as large as 18 points in the third quarter, Lamar Odom stood on the sidelines to inbound the ball. No surprise, he searched for Kobe Bryant, cutting towards Odom at the right wing. Accepting the pass, Kobe rose, thinking he only had to shoot over Steve Nash, with Grant Hill closing.

"I felt I had a good look," Kobe said. "Hill stuck his hand in there at the last second, forced me to double pump. Other than that, I was going to shoot over Steve."

The Lakes should send Hill a nice gift basket, something with a nice pinot and some fancy cheeses, thanking him for not giving up on the play.

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With 6:47 to go in the fourth quarter, both teams took the court after a full timeout by the Lakers. Jared Dudley had drained a three-pointer before the stoppage, pushing a lead to 98-89 as part of a 9-2 run. This burst represented just one chunk of a frame owned entirely by Phoenix, who began the proceedings with a slim 85-84 advantage. Even more striking, the Suns did this damage rolling with five subs: Lou Amundson, Leandro Barbosa, Goran Dragic, Jared Dudley and Channing Frye. The Lakers, however, paired their three main subs with Andrew Bynum and Kobe Bryant, the latter a one-man wrecking crew to this point.

The Suns bench had already announced it's collective zone, having befuddled the Lakers during the second quarter with some staunch, active defense and a flurry of points. 34 between five guys, highlighted by 11 from Frye, only slightly more productive than a cadaver during the previous three games. Still, the game --not to mention the series-- had reached a crucial patch, one traditionally closed out by a team's best players. Nobody would have blamed Alvin Gentry if he'd offered those guys a butt pat and a hearty handshake, then put his first five back on the floor. Particularly since Phil Jackson was now working with four starters and Lamar Odom.

Nope. Gentry opted to ride the hot hand, and that faith was rewarded.

For another 3:43, the nine point lead was maintained en route to 54 total bench points, allowing Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire, Grant Hill and Jason Richardson to further freshen their legs before removing their warmups to close the deal. Honestly, I don't even know if it would have mattered if Gentry kept his starters on ice until the streamers began littering the U.S. Airways Center floor. They had gelled as a unit and the Lakers weren't even on reading the same book, much less the identical page of it. And that's really the moral of story to me.

Quite literally, one team showed up. And the other team didn't.

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At the NBA level, the zone defense is a funny thing. It can be effective, but to use it in big chunks is generally seen as an admission a team can't guard the opposition man-to-man.

The Lakers shot over 57 percent in both Games 1 and 2, then 58 percent in the first quarter Sunday night in Game 3, generally against man D. Fair to say the Suns were ready to do some admitting.

Suns coach Alvin Gentry tried to get his guys in the zone by going zone. As much zone as you'll see a team play in a big game against an elite team. At times it worked well, namely a second quarter in which the Lakers scored only 15 points and turned it over six times, in others the Lakers picked it apart. Bottom line, though, against the Lakers a zone defense is essentially a challenge. Phoenix ceded control, and put the onus on the Lakers. Show some discipline, move without the ball, and you'll score. Don't, and you won't.

In the third quarter, the Lakers seemingly adjusted and tore up the Suns, shooting 60 percent en route to 37 points, cutting a seven point deficit to two. There were the sort of long jumpers a zone will encourage, but the Lakers also did damage in the soft spots of the defense. They got Pau Gasol to elbow, they sent cutters through the lane and to the bucket. Kobe Bryant had four assists, Gasol eight points. L.A. took nine free throws in 12 minutes after managing only three in the first half. It seemed as if every additional moment Phoenix before Gentry went back to more traditional defensive sets was manna from heaven.

But then the fourth quarter happened, and it all went down the drain as a toxic combination of turnovers and missed jumpers ultimately cost L.A. Game 3.

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Sure, things may not look good for Phoenix at the moment, but don't count them out yet, because Lamar Odom's luck seems to be turning. Game 2 featured just 17 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, three steals, and a block. Assuming the Suns can last seven games, I imagine they'll have LO right where they want him.

More analysis and video below...

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So far, so good for the purple and gold...



Much, much more below the jump...

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With 3:11 remaining in the second quarter, Carlos Boozer is fed on a re-post by Deron Williams. Having just unsuccessfully tried to back down Pau Gasol, facing up for traction against El Spaniard yields results no better for the Jazz's All-star. Boozer loses the handle upon contact and Derek Fisher dives for the loose ball, slipping it to Gasol from a seated position. Pau's roots as a teenage point guard are in full effect as he dribbles right-handed down court before backing down Kyrylo Fesenko near the arc. The ball is then dished to Fisher as Pau re-posts while waiting to get the rock back.

This time, reestablished position pays dividends for a big man.

Gasol pounds the ball a few more times, then spins left for a drive down the baseline. Fesenko does a solid job cutting off the basket, but the Ukrainian remains over-matched. Pau stops his footwork on a dime like a basketball James Brown, reverses back, then spins forward for a righty hook.

Arm stretched towards the heavens, Gasol watches as the ball rattles through the cylinder.

The Laker bench is on its feet, minds blown at the seven-footer's grace and control.

Twitter is in overdrive with "Dream shake" references.

Meanwhile, Gasol is in complete control of the sequence, just like he was throughout the night as the Lakers completed a sweep of the Utah Jazz.

There are times when looking at the box score drives home exactly how well a guy played. Other times, you have to look beyond the box score to really understand the impact.

In Pau's case, both approaches are necessary.

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If the hand of Wes Matthews is angled an eighth of an inch in another direction, perhaps his buzzer beating tip of a Deron Williams miss drops through the net rather than off the side of the rim, and the story is different. Perhaps we're chastising Ron Artest for an errant inbound pass on the previous possession (or the refs for not calling a potential foul as Derek Fisher went/was brought to the floor), turning the ball over with the Lakers up one and giving Utah a chance to win. Or maybe we're critical of Kobe Bryant, despite a top shelf 35 point, seven assist night, for ball watching on Williams' shot and letting Matthews, his man, slip inside on the play.

Maybe in Salt Lake City they're beating up Williams for missing the jumper, or Matthews for botching the opportunity.

But really, to do any of that- on either side- would be a disservice to both teams and to the game itself. Saturday night, the Lakers and Jazz engaged in 48 minutes of what playoff basketball is supposed to be. Two teams playing at an extremely high level, rising to the occasion to make plays down the stretch, and through the game generally. How many of you stood in your living rooms for the final moments of the game? Or were so wired after the buzzer you inhaled all the leftover Zankou Chicken still sitting on the counter after a halftime dinner? (Okay, that's a little specific, but you get the point...)

In the end, it came down, quite literally, to a matter of inches. The Lakers were on the right end of it, and now own a commanding 3-0 series lead over the Jazz. (With Phoenix sitting on an identical advantage over San Antonio, it's fair to start busting out all your Suns scouting reports.)

The game wasn't elegant from start to finish, had compelling moments throughout. How about Artest blowing up in the third quarter for three triples, nearly half of his total through the first eight games of the playoffs? Artest continued to be a force offensively, shooting and moving off the dribble en route to a postseason high of 20 points. But his unexpected outburst was matched by Kyle Korver, who kept Utah in the game with an unconscious nine-of-10 shooting, including five threes in five tries, for 23 points of his own.

Lamar Odom, quiet for much of the game, hit two clutch free throws with 2:47 remaining, then a three on the next Lakers possession, in 22 seconds taking the Lakers from down four to up one. Bryant, who missed four shots over a two minute stretch between the five and three minute marks of the final quarter, came back with two huge jumpers and a pinpoint pass to Fisher for a clutch corner three. Fish, by the way, finished with 20 points on seven-of-13 from the floor, continuing a run of strong postseason play. Pau Gasol, non-existent in the first half, hit an array of jumpers in the second, and at the buzzer had a typically productive stat line, with 14 points and 17 rebounds, including critical tap-backs on the offensive glass to give the Lakers more opportunities.

Add in a fun strategy decision with about eight seconds remaining- with a three-point lead Phil Jackson chose to foul with intentionally, sending Williams to the line and starting the chain of events likely giving every basketball fan in southern California and the Beehive State some sort of coronary attack- and it's fair to say this one had everything.

While in all honesty the Jazz were unlikely to win the series even if they won Saturday night, any shot they had of making this a series evaporated as Matthews' tip rolled off the rim. From here, the Lakers seem destined to eliminate the Jazz for the third straight season. The Lakers were obviously happy to do it, but with much of the drama sucked out of Monday's Game 4, it's a shame they can't simply replay Saturday's action, because it's hard to imagine a scenario in which anything else in this series will hold a candle.

Much more to come...

Our apologies to Fes and Kouf...



More analysis and video below.

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