Fine theater in these playoff rounds

FIRST ROUND

Lakers 4, Oklahoma City 2

Game 1: at Lakers 87, Thunder 79

Game 2: at Lakers 95, Thunder 92

Game 3: at Thunder 101, Lakers 96

Game 4: at Thunder 110, Lakers 89

Game 5: at Lakers 111, Thunder 87

Game 6: Lakers 95, at Thunder 94

Leading scorer: Kobe Bryant, 23.5 ppg

Leading rebounder: Pau Gasol: 12.2 per game

The lowdown: With Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum injured, the Lakers staggered into the playoffs by losing four of their last six regular-season games. They were expected to handle the Thunder quickly in the first round, but someone forgot to tell that to the Thunder. Bryant and Bynum returned for the playoffs, and when the Lakers won the first two games of the series, everything seemed according to plan. But the Thunder used its speed in Games 3 and 4 to win both games, including a 21-point win in Game 4. Back in L.A. for Game 5, Pau Gasol had 25 points and 11 rebounds to lead a Game 5 victory, then showed that Bryant and Fisher aren’t the only Lakers who can make clutch shots. Gasol grabbed the offensive rebound off a missed shot by Bryant and scored a layup with 0.5 of a second remaining to win the game and the series. But the chances of the Lakers’ repeating as NBA champions were looking a little more unlikely.

SECOND ROUND

Lakers 4, Utah 0

Game 1: at Lakers 104, Jazz 99

Game 2: at Lakers 111, Jazz 103

Game 3: Lakers 111, at Utah 110

Game 4: Lakers 111, at Utah 96

Leading scorer: Bryant, 32 ppg

Leading rebounder: Gasol, 14.5 rpg

The lowdown: The Lakers met the Jazz in the playoffs for the third straight year, with the same result. Game 1 turned into a nail-biter when the Lakers blew a 10-point lead and trailed Utah in the fourth quarter, but Kobe Bryant scored 11 points in the final four minutes of the game to lead the Lakers to victory. Game 2 was a bit easier, with the Lakers frontcourt dominating the smaller Jazz. Utah got an emotional boost in Game 3 from the return of Andrei Kirilenko, who had sat out five weeks because of a strained left calf, and the Jazz led at halftime, 54-50. Ron Artest stepped up, scoring 18 of his 20 points in the second half, and Bryant and Derek Fisher made consecutive threes in the final minute to pull off the victory. Game 4 was a laugher. The Lakers led by as many as 22 points in the first half and led by 13 after three quarters, turning the rest of the game into garbage time. Bryant was the star of the series, scoring more than 30 points in each game (31, 30, 35 and 32).

WESTERN CONFERENCE FNIALS

Lakers 4, Phoenix 2

Game 1: at Lakers 128, Suns 107

Game 2: at Lakers 124, Suns 112

Game 3: at Suns 118, Lakers 109

Game 4: at Suns 115, Lakers 106

Game 5: at Lakers 103, Suns 101

Game 6: Lakers 111, at Suns 103

Leading scorer: Bryant, 33.7 ppg

Leading rebounder: Lamar Odom, 11.8 rpg

The lowdown: It looked as if another sweep was in the making as the Lakers dominated Game 1, with Bryant scoring 40 points and Lamar Odom scoring 19 points and grabbing 19 rebounds in the 21-point victory. Bryant decided to share in Game 2, getting 13 assists as the Lakers picked up another easy victory. Talk turned to the disappearance of Suns star Amare Stoudemire, who had only nine rebounds in the first two games and was thoroughly outplayed by Pau Gasol, who shook off the “Ga-soft” nickname. Stoudemire came out inspired in Game 3, scoring 42 points to go with 11 rebounds, and making several key plays down the stretch for the Suns, who trailed at one point in the fourth quarter before rallying to win. It was more of the same in Game 4, with the Suns seemingly unable to miss. They shot 74% and scored 41 points in the second quarter, putting the Lakers, who got 38 points from Bryant, behind for good. Suddenly, the series was tied, 2-2. The Lakers led by 18 points at halftime of Game 5, but Phoenix’s Jason Richardson made a three-pointer with 3.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter to tie the score and probably, most everyone thought at the time, send the game into overtime. Bryant threw up a desperation shot, but Ron Artest read the play perfectly, caught the rebound and scored as time expired to give the Lakers an unlikely Game 5 victory. That seemed to take the wind out of the Suns’ sails, as the Lakers cruised to a Game 6 victory and a matchup in the NBA Finals with the hated Boston Celtics.

NBA FINALS

Lakers 4, Boston 3

Game 1: at Lakers 102, Celtics 89

Game 2: Celtics 103, at Lakers 94

Game 3: Lakers 91, at Celtics 84

Game 4: at Celtics 96, Lakers 89

Game 5: at Celtics 92, Lakers 86

Game 6: at Lakers 89, Celtics 67

Game 7: at Lakers 83, Celtics 79

Leading scorer: Bryant, 28.5 ppg

Leading rebounder: Gasol, 11.5 rpg

The lowdown: The two greatest franchises in NBA history were at it again. Kobe Bryant scored 30 points in a relatively easy Game 1 victory, giving him 10 performances of 30-plus points in 11 games. Game 2 was tied, 72-72, after the third quarter, but Celtics guard Rajon Rondo took over, scoring 10 points in the fourth as Boston won (with Ray Allen setting an NBA Finals record by making eight three-pointers in the game). As good as Allen was in Game 2, that’s how bad he was in Game 3, going 0 for 13 from the field as the Lakers reclaimed home-court advantage in the series with the win. The Celtics got 36 points from the bench as Boston tied the series with its Game 4 win; then Bryant scored 38 points in Game 5, but no other Laker had more than 12 as the Celtics took a 3-2 series lead, the first time the Lakers had trailed in the 2010 playoffs. The big news in Game 6 was an early injury to Boston center Kendrick Perkins, who suffered torn knee ligaments and was out of the playoffs. The Lakers opened up a 27-point lead and the benches emptied early. That left it all to Game 7. Bryant and Gasol combined for 42 points and 33 rebounds (in fact, Bryant and Gasol outrebounded the entire Celtics starting lineup) as the Lakers overcame a poor shooting night by playing tenacious defense and making several clutch free throws to win their second consecutive NBA title and their 16th overall.

Lakers win! Buy championship merchandise here

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