Don't hate non-Lakers fans, but it's on to the NBA Finals as our boys defeated the defending champion San Antonio Spurs 100-92 Thursday, advancing forward for the first time in four years. "The first half was tough for us because they caught us off guard," said Kobe Bryant after wrapping up the best-of-seven series in five. "We just wanted to cut the deficit to a manageable level by half time and we did that and then turned on the gas in the second half."
The Lakers will meet the winner of the other semi-final between the Boston Celtics and the Detroit Pistons. Boston leads the best-of-seven series 3-2 with game six in Detroit on Friday. The Lakers and Celtics have not met in the finals since 1987.
Although Bryant scored 39 points, the Lakers actually trailed by 17 points in the first half. "Never a dull moment with these boys," said Lakers coach Phil Jackson.
Trailing 44-28 with 3:57 remaining in the second, the Lakers finished the half on a 14-4 run en route to a 48-42 deficit entering the third quarter, setting up Bryant's performance in the final two periods.
Los Angeles received the Western Conference championship trophy after the game from Laker legend Jerry West.
"This is dream come true," Bryant said. "It is such a blessing to be able to share this with a group of guys who are like brothers."
This from the guy who had demanded to be traded in the off-season. "It is really a very victorious point in time. For Kobe to come back after a bewildering two weeks in pre-season when things were so tenuous," added Jackson. (AFP)