The Los Angeles Lakers took control of the action early, and made all of the right plays late to defeat the Denver Nuggets 119-92 in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals.
The win sends them to the NBA Finals for the second straight year.
“Well, we saved our best game for last,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. “Tonight was a game where we played at the highest level, shooting the ball well from all spots on the floor. This is the team we’ve seen most of the year.”
L.A.’s gameplan was obvious from the onset as they went to Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum on their first four offensive possessions.
Gasol scored on a jump hook from the right block on the Lakers’ second trip down the court, and ended the quarter with just two points and two assists on 1-for-2 shooting, but his impact went far beyond the box score. He had eight touches in the first period, which opened up the floor and created the spacing that the triangle offense is predicated upon.
With their inside game established, the Lakers went to Kobe Bryant in the second quarter. Defended by J.R. Smith and isolated on the wings for most of the quarter, Bryant erupted for 11 points and added four assists to stretch his team’s lead to 13 at the half.
“When Kobe carried us in at the half with that burst of points at the end, it really set the tone for the night,” Jackson said. “He exploited that lead from six to 13. And we were able to go in the second half and kind of feed off of that.”
Trevor Ariza was the recipient of several smart ball reversals from Bryant and Gasol, and connected on five of his first six shot attempts, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. The Lakers shot 60% as a team, while forcing Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups into a combined 4-for-15 from the field by shifting their defense, denying penetration, and contesting shots at the rim.
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(Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)
