Western Conference:

Denver 94 - Los Angeles 103

Team effort: Sasha Vujajic is congratulated by his teammates after hitting a three at the buzzer to tie the game going into halftime. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Los Angeles leads series 3-2

• The Los Angeles Lakers dominated the fourth quarter in a tightly contested game to go up 3-2 in their series with the Denver Nuggets. And this time, Kobe Bryant didn’t have to score 40 points. Bryant finished with 22 points and 8 assists (although he did have 7 turnovers), and he finally got the support he needed from his teammates. Lamar Odom had his best game of this series (and one of his best since the first round against Utah) by scoring 19 points, and adding 14 rebounds and 4 blocks, including a key rejection late to stop a potential Denver rally. Pau Gasol added 14 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks.
• Carmelo Anthony was once again the top scorer for the Nuggets, scoring 31 points on 9-23 shooting from the field and 12-13 from the line. Chauncey Billups and Kenyon Martin each scored 12 points for the Nuggets, who went cold at the start of the last period to allow the Lakers to build a big lead when they went on an 11-0 run. The teams had previously been tied at the end of each of the first three quarters. The Nuggets got within 4 when Linas Kleiza scored 7 straight, and Anthony had 6 in a 13-6 run, but they couldn’t catch up as Gasol and Odom each had huge defensive stops to protect the Lakers’ lead.


Lamar Odom celebrates after hitting an and-one in the fourth quarter. Odom's stellar performance was one of the keys to the Lakers' victory. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

• Denver had led by 7 twice in the third quarter, but the Lakers rallied to tie the game each time. The Nuggets weren’t able to dominate the glass like they did in Game 4, however, and no Nuggets player finished with double-digit rebounds. Lamar Odom’s stellar play was the key in helping the Lakers break open the game. Denver also suffered from foul trouble, as Chauncey Billups picked up his second foul in the first quarter, and Nene only managed 4 points and 8 rebounds and fouled out late in the fourth (on a questionable call, at that). J.R. Smith was also off his game, scoring only 7 points on 3-13 shooting (1-10 from long range) after his 24 point outburst in Game 4.
• Shannon Brown and Trevor Ariza also provided enough scoring punch and hustle plays to quell the Nuggets’ runs. Brown sparked the Lakers with a dunk over Chris Andersen in the fourth, and then followed that with a long jumper to beat the shot clock with Anthony’s hand in his face. He finished with 6 points, while Ariza contributed 12 points, 5 boards, 4 assists, a steal and a couple of blocks in a complete effort. Derek Fisher also started out hot to keep the Lakers in the game, and finished with 12 points, including making two key free throws late, and Andrew Bynum had 9 points in a little under 19 minutes to complete the balanced attack of LA.
• The Lakers defense was pumped up, as they blocked 12 shots to the Nuggets’ 5 (of which 4 were Chris Andersen’s). They also held the Nuggets to .386 shooting while shooting .487 themselves. Denver did have a lot more steals (11-5) but the Lakers only had one more turnover than Denver (15-14), showing that they were able to force the Nuggets into making a lot of mistakes.
• Denver now returns home to play Game 6, where a victory would force a seventh game in LA. It’s a must win for them, and if the Lakers’ role players can get more consistent, the Nuggets will have no room for errors in order to advance. Billups only took 7 shots in this game, but I think he will be more assertive offensively as the Nuggets are in a do-or-die situation. If Nene can also stay out of foul trouble, then Denver will have a greater chance of forcing a seventh game.