Lakers Vs. Nuggets Live Game Blog

Bynum posts up and banks it in. Will they go to him again? Kobe, meanwhile, is still playing, since the Lakers would lose right here and now if he wasn't.

11:02- The Birdman now has double-digit rebounding numbers. When was the last time three players on the same team had double-digit rebounds? Was it against a team with a frontline like the Lakers? The Lakers couldn't even do that against a Yao-less Rockets team.

10:29- Bynum again! Who'da thunk? J.R. is slowly morphing to the old J.R., forcing issues. Jump ball, tip goes to Billups, who gets the and-one. Nugs up 80-70.

10:00- Breen: "Billups for three....BANG!" I love this game.

9:15- Nene with the sweet dish to Smith for the flying jam. Nugs up 14, and Bryant is on the bench for a blow. Lakers lineup: Walton, Bynum, Vujacic, Ariza and Brown. Luke Walton gets called for technical when it's the Lakers' ball out-of-bounds? This is unraveling fast.

9:03- Bynum misses the and-one free throw, but at least he's being aggressive. So is Kleiza, who nails a three, giving the Nugs an 89-73 lead. Loose-ball foul on Walton. Time-out Lakers.

* The mere possibility that there could be a Nuggets/Magic Finals is a health concern. David Stern and ABC officials are losing sleep. Fans are rioting. Kobe will demand a trade and Clevelanders will finally lose their sanity.

8:00- Farmar is in for Brown. Kobe  and Gasol are both sitting. If this game gets any further out of hand, Jackson will save him for Game 5. The camera goes to 'Melo, showing his 2-for-14 line. This is unreal. Meanwhile Odom hits 1-for-2 freebies. Lakers down 15.

7:40- Farmar gets the and-one after the Odom block. Fans are emitting that "don't blow this now" buzz.

7:09- J.R. gets called for a technical. I'm not sure why. Farmar misses the freebie, though. Somewhere 'Sheed is yelling at a tv, "Ball don' lie!" Lakers down just ten.

6:44- 'Melo gets to the line, which is about the only place he's getting anything tongiht. Kobe's back in. Mark Jackson said Chauncey should go up to 'Melo and say, "We don't need you grimacing in pain. Either take us home or sit on the bench." Harsh. Jackson never grimaced? Not once? Even Jordan grimaced. Come on.

6:15- Bynum brings both arms stiffly down on the Birdman, getting called for the flagrant. Even that looked dispassionate. His expression said, "Uh, I shouldn't have done that, huh? I'm in trouble, huh?" Nugs up 14.

* "Oh baby you......you got what I neeeeed. 'Cause you say I'm just a friend. 'Cause you say I'm just a friend."

5:31- 'Melo with a huge spinning and-one in the paint. Nugs up 96-81. Meanwhile Mark Jackson and Van Gundy are lamenting the soft nature of today's NBA, pointing out that Bynum's flagrant was just a "good hard playoff foul." I wish I had a five-dollar bill for every time they've said that this postseason.

4:47- Walton fouls 'Melo, giving him two freebies. Walton's expression: "I know why you called that man. Can't I get a little more respect? Don't you know who my daddy is?"

4:16- J.R. dagger three. Nugs up 14. If J.R. can play like this for two more games, the Nuggets will win the series. You heard it here first.

3:55- Walton just fouled out. I need to find out how many minutes he played...13. Priceless. Ugly drives and freebies are keeping the Lakers somewhat close, but 'Melo's free throws push it back to a 14-point ball game.

3:49- Kobe's officially in ticked-off mode, driving to the whole and forcing the contact. 'Melo takes offense, and gets called for both a personal and a technical. Denver's fans respond: "KOBE SUCKS!" Yeah, he sucks. Please. Now K-Mart and Gasol scuffle. K-Mart gets the technical. These are reputation technicals. Gasol doesn't get a T. Kobe doesn't get one. Lakers within ten.

3:15- This game has turned into an ugly affair of bad fouls and lots of free throws. Billups puts the Nuggets up 104-92. Previous to that, 'Melo got Denver another offensive rebound. Bryant forces it again, gets another foul, stopping the clock and prolonging this now-painful event. Lakers within ten with 3:09 remaining.

3:01- Smith gets fouled. Phil Jackson is telling his team "Don't foul!" George Karl is saying, "Don't foul!" I'm yelling at the tv, "Don't foul!" Denver up 105-94.

2:48- Billups steals the inbounds pass and puts the Nugs up 13. Payback's a female dog.

1:37- J.R. hits back-to-back threes...BANG!

1:19- Nugs up 14. The Lakers will lose. Los Angeles is already steeling itself for the slew of "killer instinct" questions that will hound them until they finish this series.

1:13- Nene with the and-one hook while getting mugged by three Lakers. What baby? I don't see no baby.

1:01- Farmar turns it over, Kleiza misses the layup, Nene misses the putback, Jones gets fouled on the putback. Yeah, that pretty much sums up the game. Benches are cleared. Balkman's back in the game. Isaiah is paying attention now. Nugs up 120-99.

* DJ Mbenga is in for the Lakers. I still can't believe he's a martial arts black belt. He looks so uncoordinated. Then again, if coordination were everything, Nikolaz Tskitishvili would still be in the league.

:00- Game over. J.R. finished with 24 points. K-Mart, Nene and Birdman combined for 42 rebounds. The Lakers as a team had 40.

Thoughts for Game 5:

The Lakers need to go with what's working. If Kobe's the only one who's got it going, then make sure he keeps it going in the paint. If Gasol does something right, don't ignore him. I'm flabbergasted by some of Jackson's coaching, but then again, I'm not as deep a thinker as he is.

If Denver keeps sharing the ball, they're talented enough to overwhelm the Lakers offensively.

The Lakers aren't playing like champions. If they make the Finals, I'll root against them because they don't deserve to be there unless they do a complete 180-degree makeover and win the next two games in overwhelming fashion. Another way to put it: Which team would make the East's champion more nervous?

How bad is 'Melo's injury? If he's still affected by it, will the Nugs' bench step up again? That's the big question with this team: their consistency.

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