Lakers
eliminate Spurs with four-straight wins
LOS ANGELES (AP) — With four future
Hall of Famers, the Los Angeles Lakers have
some kind of imposing offense.
That wasn’t what it took to beat the
San Antonio Spurs.
It
took some kind of defense.
Kobe
Bryant scored 12 of his 26 points in the
fourth quarter, Shaquille O’Neal had
17 points, 19 rebounds and five blocked
shots and the Lakers beat the Spurs 88-76
Saturday night to win the Western Conference
semifinals in six games.
It
was the completion of an improbable comeback
and sent the defending NBA champions home
for the summer. Exactly a year earlier,
it was the Spurs celebrating a conference
semifinal triumph on the same court to end
the Lakers’ quest for a fourth straight
title.
‘‘It
was a big series for us, playing the defending
champs,’’ Bryant said. ‘‘Last
year they knocked us out and we had an opportunity
to return the favor.’’
The
Spurs shot 30.2 percent, including 21.3
percent in the second half when the Lakers
outscored them 49-37.
‘‘We
came out and played a second half where
our defense hung together again and made
them struggle for shots,’’ Lakers
coach Phil Jackson said.
‘‘That
was really our demise in the series,’’
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of his team’s
offense. ‘‘I thought that defensively,
they were wonderful.’’
Tony
Parker, so outstanding in the first two
games, shot 4-of-18 in scoring nine points
and had only three assists in the finale.
‘‘We
knew Tony was cutting us up,’’
Jackson said. ‘‘We just threw
the wall at him, basically, threw bodies
at him.’’
The
Lakers will face the winner of the Minnesota-Sacramento
series in the conference finals. The Timberwolves
lead 3-2 entering Game 6 Sunday in Sacramento.
The
Lakers became the eighth team in NBA history
to win a best-of-seven series after losing
the first two games. The last team to accomplish
such a feat was Houston, which did it in
both the 1994 and 1995 conference semifinals
against Phoenix en route to championships.
After
a pair of 10-point victories over Los Angeles
to begin the series, the Spurs had a 17-game
winning streak and the Lakers appeared to
be in big trouble.
Little
did anyone know the Spurs wouldn’t
win again this season.
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