2011 NBA Playoffs: LA Lakers Eliminate New Orleans Hornets in Game 6

The world champion Los Angeles Lakers swept the regular season series against the New Orleans Hornets, so the first-round matchup promised to be a little more than a formality. But when the pesky Hornets stole Game 1 in the Staples Center, a series was born. Heading into Game 6, Lakers assistant coach Jim Cleamons told The Los Angeles Times, "(The Hornets) are not going to go away easy. We have to realize that Thursday night is going to be once again a virtual dogfight."

The Lakers would prevent a Game 7 by closing out the series in New Orleans. Here's how they did it:

New Orleans Hurt Themselves Early and Often

The Hornets committed their first foul and turnover in the initial 30 seconds of the game. Hornets coach Monty Williams paced the sidelines with his hands in his pockets and his eyebrows knit as his team allowed Los Angeles Lakers Pau Gasol, Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher to dominate the first quarter.

Pau Gasol Rediscovered his Mojo

The Spanish Lakers forward was criticized throughout the series for posting mediocre numbers (and that's possibly the kindest reporting of Gasol's performance this month).

A key sequence in the third quarter illustrates his re-emergence: the lanky power forward hit a turnaround shot in the paint, knocked down a face-up set shot near the key, hit an outside set-shot, set up Lakers center Andrew Bynum for an easy layup, then blocked Hornets guard Marco Belinelli's corner jump shot—all within a four-minute span.