LA Lakers 119, Denver 92: A Grand Finals Return for the Lake Show

Now THAT'S more like it.

A few days removed from an embarrassing 120-101 rout at the Pepsi Center, the Los Angeles Lakers made up for it with an emphatic 119-92 victory over the Denver Nuggets to win the 2009 NBA Western Conference Finals.

Kobe Bryant, the floor general, was instrumental in helping Phil Jackson's club reach their 30th NBA Finals.

Bryant scored a game-high 35 points to go with 10 assists and six rebounds.

Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom also stepped up production. Odom, who was nowhere to be seen in Game 4, scored 20 points while Gasol added another 20 to go with 12 boards and six assists.

While Andrew Bynum and Derek Fisher took the day off (two points for Bynum, five for Derek Fisher), LA got help from Trevor Ariza and Luke Walton.

Ariza made amends for his blunder in Game 2 with 17 points, while Walton chipped in 10. Sasha Vujacic added seven in the rout.

Nuggets fans should at least take solace that 120 points were not scored on George Karl's club, who are eliminated from the post-season.

Dahntay Jones had it rough, with only two points, and a technical to rub salt into open Rocky Mountain wounds.

Carmelo Anthony scored 25 points, Kenyon Martin 13, and J.R. Smith scored 24. However, Chauncey Billups, the hero for the Nuggets in Games 2 and 4, was reduced to a mere 10 points and nine assists.

Nene and Chris Andersen was also non-factors. The Brazilian center scored only eight points while Andersen scored just two.

A victory by the Orlando Magic in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference Final will give Los Angeles home court advantage, as well as a chance to prove that a regular-season whitewash is no match for success in the 2009 NBA Finals.

But the Cleveland Cavaliers aren't out of it yet, and the hopes of a Kobe vs. LeBron showdown that millions of fans around the world are clamoring for could be realized if it goes the distance.