Kobe Bryant with the ball in his hands and a chance to win the game is dangerous. Bryant getting two such chances is as good as a sure thing.
The Los Angeles Lakers superstar capped a 39-point night with a turnaround 15-footer from left of the free throw line at the overtime buzzer Wednesday night, lifting his team to a 107-106 victory over a game Milwaukee Bucks squad.
Bryant missed a similar shot at the regulation buzzer, allowing the Bucks to reach overtime with the game tied at 95.
He was only half-joking when he said making the overtime shot was a given.
"Especially because I missed the first one," said Bryant, who scored 42 the night before and was playing his third game with a broken index finger on his right hand. "I had a really good look at that first one, and I wanted to go right back to that same spot and get the same look."
He did exactly that as the Lakers elected to take the ball fullcourt after a timeout with 5.4 seconds left that followed a Michael Redd miss.
The Bucks' Charlie Bell hounded Bryant the entire distance, but Milwaukee did not send a double-team to get the ball out of Bryant's hands.
"I think [Lakers coach] Phil [Jackson] caught them off guard by having us take the ball fullcourt," Bryant said. "I think that threw them for a loop. They probably were expecting us, with 5 seconds, to take the ball at halfcourt, and then they could kind of smother me. But coming from that distance, it's tough."
Bryant's shot spoiled big efforts from Redd, who scored a season-best 25 as he tries to work his way back from left knee troubles, and Ersan Ilyasova, who had a career-high 24 points. But Ilyasova missed a pair of free throws with 58.6 seconds in overtime that would have given the Bucks a six-point lead.
After Luke Ridnour's pull-up jumper gave Milwaukee a 106-100 lead with 1:25 left in overtime, Bryant hit a jumper in the lane with 1:18 left.
After Ilyasova's two missed free throws, Bryant converted a huge 3-point play 10 seconds later that had the Bucks and the crowd of 16,309 howling. Bryant drove the line but ran into center Andrew Bogut. As the whistle blew, Bryant spun and made a short shot.
Referees Joe Forte and Mark Davis conferred, and Davis emphatically signaled a blocking foul.
"That was a huge play ... the charge or block call," Bucks coach Scott Skiles said, trying his best to be diplomatic. "That's a huge play, and if we get that stop right there we're probably in good position.
"It goes against us and then you know that you're probably going right down to the wire. But, again, we had two free throws. We have to knock those down, and then we're probably OK."
Bryant's view was probably a bit different than the Bucks' view.
"I tried to get Bogut leaning and spin back in the lane and draw some contact," Bryant said. "I did, and the shot fell."
After Bryant's 3-point play with 48.6 seconds left, the Bucks came up with a huge offensive rebound when Bell tipped Ridnour's miss out to Bogut near halfcourt, and the Bucks took a timeout with 27.6 seconds left.
With the shot clock running down, Redd missed a runner from the right side of the lane, and the Lakers had one last chance for Bryant.
When his shot swished through without touching iron, the Lakers won their second game in as many nights and their 13th in 14 games to improve to 20-4. The Bucks fell to 11-12.
Pau Gasol had a monster night for the Lakers with season highs of 26 points and 22 rebounds. Ron Artest was the only other Laker in double figures with 10, including a big 3-pointer in overtime.
Bogut added had 16 points and 12 rebounds for Milwaukee but missed a free throw with 20.7 seconds left in regulation that would have completed a 3-point play and given the Bucks a 96-95 lead.
That would have meant Bryant's miss at the end of regulation would have given the Bucks a victory. Instead, it went to overtime and Bryant was the hero again. That allowed Jackson to riff comedic after the game.
"I told him, 'Why did you keep us waiting?' through the whole timeout," Jackson said. " 'You had the same situation in regulation. I mean, really. You wasted a half-hour of our lives.' I don't understand that boy sometimes."
Bryant's teammates have seen such heroics enough that they're no longer surprised.
"He's done it for a very long time and he's done it a couple times this year already," guard Derek Fisher said.
No comments:
Post a Comment