The Lakers earned their 15th title as Kobe Bryant scored 30 points and Pau Gasol added 14 and 15 rebounds in a 99-86 Game 5 win over the Orlando Magic.

It took longer than Bryant expected, but he has stepped out from behind Shaquille O’Neal’s shadow. His fourth championship strongly suggests that Kobe Bryant might be the league’s best player since Michael Jordan.

Bryant said of the constant Shaq comparisons:

“It was like Chinese water torture,” he said. “I would cringe every time. I was just like, it’s a challenge I’m just going to have to accept because there’s no way I’m going to argue it. You can say it until you’re blue in the face and rationalize it until you’re blue in the face, but it’s not going anywhere until you do something about it.

Regardless of the fact that the Detroit Pistons missed 64 percent of their shots and had a rookie filling in for an All-Star point guard, they still managed to set an NBA playoff record with just three turnovers and make enough shots to advance to their sixth straight Eastern Conference final with a 91-86 win Tuesday night over the Orlando Magic in Game 5 of the second-round series.

The Pistons are the first franchise to play in six conference finals in a row since the Los Angeles Lakers went to eight straight in the 1980s.

The Pistons will have a break before facing the Boston Celtics or Cleveland Cavaliers and that will help Chauncey Billups , who missed two straight games with an injured right hammy.