MVP Kobe Bryant still has a shot to win a big prize after failing to nab the NBA championship, and he’ll have lots of help along the way. The next step is to bring home the gold, and the U.S. will send a deep, versatile team to China.
LeBron James. Dwyane Wade. Jason Kidd. Carmelo Anthony. Tayshaun Prince, Carlos Boozer, Chris Bosh, Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, Michael Redd and Deron Williams.
They will lead a U.S. Olympic basketball team that was announced yesterday and hope to capture the gold medal in Beijing in August after a third-place showing in Athens four years ago. The team already has “re-established itself” on an international level, USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo said during a news conference.
After 22 years, the NBA has gone green again. The Celtics concluded a crazy rebound of a season with an amazing 131-92 blowout over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6 last night. The Celtics won their 17th NBA title and a first one for Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, a Big Three for a new generation. Garnett scored 26 points with 14 rebounds, Allen scored 26 and Pierce, the finals MVP who shook off a sprained right knee sustained in game one. Boston’s 39-point win surpassed the NBA record for the biggest margin of victory in a championship clincher; the Celtics beat the Lakers 129-96 in Game 5 of the 1965 NBA finals.
The Los Angeles Lakers have made the NBA Finals for the very first time after beating the 2007 champs the San Antonio Spurs 100-92, winning a best-of-seven series 4-1. Kobe Bryant was the star of the night, scoring 36 points as the Lakers came back from a 17 point deficit to take home an eight point victory.
Pau Gasol contributed with a 12 points and 19 rebounds while Lamar Odom got 13 points and eight rebounds for the Lakers, who will play the winner of the Celtics/Pistons series, which currently has Boston leading 3-2. Game six is in Detroit tonight. Tony Parker was the top scorer for the Spurs with 23 points, while Tim Duncan added 19. However, these were the only scorers of note as the Spurs sputtered towards the end.
The Los Angeles Lakers are just one win away from the NBA Finals after sending the San Antonio Spurs to their first home loss of the playoffs. Kobe Bryant collected 28 points and 10 rebounds for the Lakers, who never trailed once last night and kept it up for a 93-91 victory. Brent Barry missed a contested 3-pointer for the Spurs as time expired. The Lakers have a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference finals and can advance to the NBA Finals against Boston or Detroit with a home win against the defending champion in Game 5 tomorrow. Tim Duncan had 29 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Spurs, while Tony Parker and Barry took 23 points each. Manu Ginobili, after scoring 30 points in San Antonio’s Game 3 win, was held to 7 points on 2-of-8 shooting.The Lakers have a 7-0 record at the Staples Center during the postseason and hasn’t lost at home in two months.
The Celtics host the Pistons tonight in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals. The teams are tied at two games apiece. Boston is 9-1 at home and 1-7 on the road in this year’s playoffs. Boston has survived two big close calls in the first round and semifinals. They knocked out the eighth-seeded Atlanta Hawks in seven games in the quarterfinals and hung on to defeat LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in an even closer seven-game series. There’s a lot of playoff history between these two teams. Boston defeated the Pistons in the 1968, 1985 and 2002 semis, and also knocked out Detroit in seven games in the 1987 East finals.
Kobe Bryant has been selected the NBA’s most valuable player for the first time in his 12-year career, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday.
Bryant has won three championships with the Los Angeles Lakers and is considered the league’s best talent. But he had never come close to winning an MVP before this season.
Kobe averaged 28.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.4 assists in the regular season. Also, he led the Lakers to a 57-25 record and the top seed in the Western Conference.
Bryant, second in the NBA in scoring behind LeBron James, will be the first Lakers player to win the MVP award since Shaquille O’Neal in 2000. Other previous Lakers to win the award were Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson, who each won it three times.
The Los Angeles Lakers can go to sleep tonight knowing they’re the best team in the Western Conference.
Pau Gasol scored 22 points and Kobe Bryant had 20 - before both sat out the fourth quarter - as the Lakers destroyed the Sacramento Kings 124-101 on Tuesday night to clinch the top spot in the Western Conference.
“The Western Conference has been brutal all season, so it’s pretty special to have the best record,” said Bryant “It’s an amazing accomplishment for us.”
Gasol, who came over to the Lakers from Memphis in February, was thrilled to be a major factor in clinching their first conference banner since the 1999-2000 NBA championship season.
“It feels good, we worked hard for it and we earned it,” said Gasol, who hit nine-of-11 floor shots and grabbed seven rebounds. “I’m ready to get this thing going and to face another real challenge. Now the real fun starts.”
Though the Lakers have home-court advantage through the first three rounds of the playoffs, they won’t know until Wednesday night whether they open up on Sunday against the Denver Nuggets or Dallas Mavericks.
