The Man Who Saved Los Angeles

There is no doubt how great of a player Kobe Bryant is. He is deserving of mention in the same category as Michael Jordan or Magic Johnson. The man had three NBA championships at age 23—that's something Michael Jordan can't say, and it would be no surprise to me, nor should it be a surprise to anyone, if Kobe Bryant adds a fourth one this June.

Going into last night's game, the L.A. Lakers were faced with serious adversity. They trailed the Nuggets 52-48 at halftime, and 79-71 going into the fourth quarter. The Lakers remained calm under hall of fame coach and nine-time world champion Phil Jackson; however, I am sure fans around the globe who bleed purple and gold were a bit nervous, knowing that when a series is tied 1-1, the winner of Game Three wins 76 percent of the time.

You know LeBron James made a night to remember in Cleveland 24 hours before the Nuggets and Lakers game had been played; however, Kobe Bryant had a plan to make his night something special, as well. He recorded 41 points in Saturday night's crucial Game Three, but none of those were bigger then the three-pointer he hit over J.R. Smith with 1:09 left in the game, to take a 96-95 lead.

Trevor Ariza later matched his Game One effort with another late steal to seal the deal. So with that being said, the Lakers fought and never gave up, and ended up getting home court advantage back in this series, which looks to be a huge thing, considering how close all three games have been so far.

The Lakers now have seven straight road playoff wins in Denver, matching the NBA record held by the Lakers' playoff road record against the San Antonio Spurs from the 1982 season through the 1988 season.

The Lakers are in awesome shape right now; however, even with a win on Monday, Lakers fans shouldn't write anyone off with a 3-1 lead, if that was to occur. Back in 2000, the Lakers had a 3-1 lead on the Blazers in the Western Conference Finals, only to have them storm back and lead by double digits going into Game Seven, before Kobe, Shaq, and company came back to win and eventually win the finals over the Indiana Pacers.

But if the Lakers are able to force the Nuggets to win Game Seven to move on, they'd be in decent shape. The Nuggets better hope they can win three straight against a Phil Jackson-coached team with arguably the greatest player on the planet, and that doesn't seem to likely. A lot of people expected Denver and Cleveland in June. I expect Orlando and Los Angeles.