Kobe Bryant urges Lakers teammates to keep fighting despite win in Game Five
Kobe Bryant urges Lakers teammates to keep fighting despite win in Game Five
Kobe Bryant wants his team to be brutal and cold-hearted after a win at home against Denver put them within sniffing distance of a place in the NBA Finals
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LA Lakers' Kobe Bryant lays up a basket over Denver Nuggets' Nene Hilario during Game Five of the Western Conference Finals at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Wednesday. PICS/AFP |
Bryant had 22 points and eight assists and Lamar Odom scored 19 points as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Denver Nuggets 103-94 on Wednesday in game five of their semi-final series.
Cold-bloodedBryant said, "The intensity is going to be there. What we have to do is execute; it's as simple as that. Be cold-blooded, go out there and execute."
Pau Gasol also had 14 points for Los Angeles who took a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series to determine the Western Conference representative in the NBA finals.
"We stretched the defence out a lot more," Bryant said. "We wanted to change it up tonight by making me more of a decoy to try and open up opportunities for my teammates."
The pressure of finishing a series on the road is never easy, and the Lakers are planning for a rude welcome in Denver.
"They are one of the best home teams in the NBA, and we're one of the best road teams," Luke Walton said. "And we know how they play when their backs are against the wall."
It has been a back and forth series and Wednesday's game was no different as the teams were tied at the end the first three quarters, before the Lakers finally clamped down. Los Angeles broke the game open with a 21-3 run late in the third quarter that carried over into the fourth. At one point they made 11 consecutive defensive stops on the Nuggets.
"They didn't have any fast breaks in the fourth quarter," said Odom, who also had 14 rebounds."
