Western Conference Finals: Lakers win the West!

The Lakers, led by Kobe Bryant, climbed out of a 17-point hole to beat the Spurs 100-92. Kobe Bryant scored 17 of his 39 points in the fourth quarter and keyed the Lakers rally in game five. The Lakers earn a trip to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2004.

The Lakers had a mild celebration with the Staples Center crowd, due to the fact that the Lakers are four wins away from their season long quest for a championship and the real celebration.     

The Spurs had a great start to the game and after two ties raced out to an early lead. The lead at the end of the first quarter was 28-15. The Spurs scored five points to start the quarter until Laker reserve Jordan Farmar went on a 6-0 run to cut the lead to 14.

The Spurs answered to temporarily stem the tide. The Lakers were gaining momentum and the Spurs were going through another scoring drought. The Spurs have had problems finishing quarters and finishing halves.  That happened again as the Lakers ended the quarter on a 14-4 run, making the halftime score 48-42.

The Spurs came out of the locker room and scored the first four points of the third quarter to push their lead to ten. The Lakers defense did a good job of turning Manu Ginobli into a jump shooter and chasing him off of the three point line.

Manu Ginobli had a strong start in the playoffs against the Suns & Hornets but flamed out against the Lakers.

The Lakers did a good job of cutting the deficit to a manageable amount in the first half. Then the Lakers turned up the intensity and played with a tremendous amount of energy.  They seemed to change speeds on the Spurs and took command, landing several body shots that the Spurs couldn’t recover from.

The Spurs were gassed. The Lakers had not only come back but had passed them by. The score at the end of the third quarter was 64-63, Lakers. The fourth quarter started with a Kobe Bryant three point shot to give the Lakers a 67-63 lead.

The Spurs scored five points to gain their last lead of the series at 68-67. Kobe Bryant had the killer look in his eyes like a shark smelling blood in the water. The Spurs had taken several blows & they were on the ropes, and just like their reign on the top, they were ready to fall.

A Luke Walton three pointer and baskets by Farmar and Bryant gave the Lakers a 74-68 lead with eight-and-a-half minutes remaining, the Lakers remained on top the rest of the way.

The knockout blow came when Kobe Bryant scored eight straight points on three field goals and two free throws.

The Spurs played a team that was just better.

The Lakers outplayed the Spurs in several facets of the game, but their defense was what won this series.

The Spurs are a good team that has gotten old fast, and after a grueling seven game series against the Hornets the Spurs couldn’t handle the speed & quickness of the Lakers. The Lakers were the number one seed for a reason.

The Spurs were hurt by their in-ability to get easy buckets. The Spurs offense was stagnant and beyond Tony Parker’s one-man fast breaks and forays into the paint, the Spurs were jump shooters living and dying by the success or failure at the three point line.

The Lakers scored 52 points in the paint in game five. The Lakers forced the Spurs into 14 turnovers and scored 11 points off of them.

The Spurs were the defending champions and they put up a good fight but when the bulk of your scoring comes from two players and you’re not sure what you’re going to get from your bench every night and all of your bench players are over thirty – that’s not a good look for the Spurs.

I’ll even go as far as saying that if it wasn’t for one good game from Manu Ginobli the Spurs would’ve been swept.

Lamar Odom was solid & scored 13 points, Pau Gasol scored 12 points, had 19 rebounds, five assists and four blocked shots. The Lakers bench was outscored by the Spurs bench but still had a solid impact.   

The Lakers are younger, quicker and have been playing excellent basketball all year and this wasn’t the Spurs year. The team has an excellent front office and coaching staff.  I’ve complete confidence that they’ll work something out.

The reality is that sound you hear; is from several young teams rising in the west that the Spurs will have to get younger to compete against.

There has been a changing of the guard in the west and the Lakers hold the conference title to the disbelief of some.