Fri May 30 00:29:44 2008

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Kobe, Lakers erase 17-point deficit and head to Finals

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Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - Kobe Bryant is one step closer to a career- defining NBA championship, as the Los Angeles star guard and this season's MVP poured in 39 points and hit many key pull-up jumpers down the stretch, propelling the Lakers to the NBA Finals with a 100-92 victory over defending champion San Antonio in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals.

The Lakers are back in the NBA Finals for the first time since 2004, overcoming a 17-point deficit early in the second quarter and overwhelming the fatigued Spurs with an onslaught of athleticism and sharp shooting down the stretch.

"A very victorious point in time for Kobe especially. It has to be a very special time for him to be back here," said Lakers head coach Phil Jackson.

Los Angeles will face either Boston or Detroit in the NBA Finals beginning next Thursday. The Lakers have won 14 straight home games, eight in a row in the playoffs.

Bryant, who will appear in his first NBA Finals without former teammate Shaquille O'Neal, made 16-of-30 from the field and scored 17 of his points in the final quarter. Lamar Odom added 13 points and eight rebounds and Pau Gasol was equally as large inside with 12 points and 19 rebounds.

"We've learned from other series on how to close teams. You have to be patient. We got the message," Bryant said about closing out the Spurs.

San Antonio still hasn't come back to win a playoff series it trailed 3-1, and for the second time in this series blew a double-digit lead in LA. The Lakers rallied from down 20 in the third quarter to win Game 1, 89-85.

Tony Parker led the Spurs with 23 points, Tim Duncan notched a playoff triple- double with 19 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists and Michael Finley scored 13 points. Manu Ginobili was again quiet, much like Game 4, with only nine points on 3-of-9 shooting.

"I thought we did as good of a job as we could defensively," said San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich. "We just couldn't muster enough offensively from game to game and that was the series."

Bryant's jumper pushed the edge to 85-81 with a little more than three minutes to go in the contest. San Antonio turned the ball over before Bryant rattled out an 18-foot pull-up jumper.

A pick-and-roll between Brent Barry and Duncan resulted in a Gasol foul on the Wake Forest product. Duncan, who has been inconsistent from the charity stripe throughout the playoffs, made 1-of-2 from the foul line.

Bryant then hung in the air by the charity stripe and calmly sank a jumper over Duncan's outstretched arm with 2:22 on the clock. Duncan then forced and missed a close-in bank shot, and Bryant slashed off a high pick and laid the basketball in with 1:47 to play for an 89-82 lead.

Duncan scored off a Ginobili pass with 1:41 on the clock, then Gasol grabbed a big offensive board off a Vladimir Radmanovic miss from the right corner. Bryant again turned the corner on Ginobili and was fouled with 55.4 ticks to play, making both shots for a 91-84 advantage.

Parker then missed on the other end and the celebration began.

"The better team won. You get a seven-game series, the best team wins," Popovich stated flatly.

San Antonio dominated the game's first 15-plus minutes, going on a 17-2 stretch over the end of the first and beginning of second periods. The spurt included a 12-0 blitz capped by Ginobili's finger roll, the first points of the second quarter, for a 30-15 advantage.

Barry's three, moments later, gave the Spurs a comfortable 33-16 lead.

The cushion, in the end, wasn't big enough.

Kurt Thomas kept San Antonio's lead at 16 points, 46-31, with a jumper with 2:32 to go. Los Angeles then streaked to the locker room, scoring 11 of the half's final 13 points.

Bryant's layup with five ticks to play brought his club within 48-42 at the half.

The Lakers continued climbing the hill, taking its first lead since 2-1 at 61-60 on a jumper by Bryant with 1:11 left in the third stanza. Radmanovic's trey gave Los Angeles the 64-63 edge entering the final period.

Game Notes

Thomas and Barry each scored 11 points in defeat...The Lakers grabbed 11 offensive rebounds, nine coming from Gasol...The Lakers last lost at home on March 28 versus Memphis...Lakers head coach Phil Jackson improved to 41-0 when his teams win the first game of a playoff series...San Antonio dropped to 2-7 on the road during this postseason...The game featured six ties and 12 lead changes...Attendance was 18,997, and included Golden State Warriors guard Baron Davis, actor Adam Sandler and actress Cameron Diaz.