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LOS ANGELES: Kobe Bryant scored 25 of his 27 points in the second
half Wednesday to lift the Los Angeles Lakers to an 89-85 victory
over the San Antonio Spurs in the opener of their
National Basketball Association playoff series.
The Lakers erased a 20-point third-quarter
deficit to beat the defending NBA champions in the first game of
their best-of-7 Western Conference final series, from which the
winner advances to the NBA Finals.
Spain’s Pau Gasol scored 19 points for the
Lakers, who trailed 65-45 with 5:54 to play in the third period.
The Lakers didn’t take the lead until league
MVP Bryant made two free throws with 2:42 remaining.
Lamar Odom’s layup had tied it at 81-81, and
Bryant’s foul shots and a jump shot gave the Lakers a four-point
edge.
San Antonio forward Tim Duncan’s putback tied
the game at 85-85 with 41 seconds to play, but Bryant put Los
Angeles ahead for good with a jump shot over Bruce Bowen with 23
seconds left.
Manu Ginobili missed a 3-pointer on the other
end of the floor with less than 10 seconds to play.
“I had a couple of issues, but nothing that
bad that can justify the way I played today,” said Ginobili, who
acknowledged a sore ankle but said no bumps or bruises accounted for
a quiet 10 points. “I’m very upset, but now it’s over and we
just have to try to play them better.”
Duncan finished with 30 points and 18 rebounds,
and Tony Parker added 18, 10 and 6 assists for San Antonio, which
had a quick turnaround after eliminating the Hornets in the previous
round with a dramatic Game 7 win in New Orleans on Monday night.
In addition, travel glitches en route to Los
Angeles meant the Spurs arrived later than planned on Tuesday and
didn’t practice.
“I think fatigue was probably a factor for
them at the end,” said Lakers coach Phil Jackson.
Game 2 is on Friday in Los Angeles, where the
Lakers are 7-0 this postseason.
-- AFP
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