LOS ANGELES — Kobe Bryant had Ron Artest captivated in a buck hug, which was afresh engulfed by a accumulation hug, all while agleam amethyst and gold streamers caked from the sky. Bryant was beaming, affable at last.
To that emotion, he could accept added surprised, animated and maybe alike relieved.
As a tie bold dwindled to its final abnormal Thursday night, Bryant attack an air brawl and Artest angry it into a buzzer-beating, game-winning and possibly series-turning layup. The Los Angeles Lakers danced abroad with a 103-101 achievement over the Phoenix Suns, and a 3-2 advance in the Western Conference finals.
“As a group, it’s consistently fun to accept wins like this,” Bryant said, his affection essentially bigger from beforehand in the week.
The Lakers are one achievement abroad from a third beeline cruise to the N.B.A. finals and a adventitious to avert their title. Bold 6 is Saturday in Phoenix. It is absurd the alternation can get any wilder or weirder than it was Thursday night.
Suns Drillmaster Alvin Gentry, addled by aliment poisoning, vomited in the aboriginal bisected and bare intravenous fluids at halftime. The Lakers blew an 18-point advance in the additional half. The Suns about affected overtime on a bank-shot 3-pointer by Jason Richardson with 3.5 abnormal left.
Then Artest, who ability accept larboard as the best vilified amateur in the building, became the Lakers’ absurd savior.
With the account angry at 101-101, Bryant took an inbounds canyon on the sideline, afresh angry and flung a 3-point attempt. Artest answerable into the paint, bent the brawl and bound laid it aback up as time expired, ambience off a amazing anniversary at Staples Center.
Bryant accomplished with 30 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists — a absolute that did not accommodate his accidental augment of Artest on the game’s final play.
Artest, who abutting the Lakers aftermost summer to accommodate courage and defense, was asked if it was the bigger attack of his career.
“Biggest layup,” he said with a smile. “I absent a lot of layups during the approved season.”
Fans accept begin Artest alternately blood-tingling and maddening, and he was both Thursday night. His accommodation authoritative and cutting accept been heavily critiqued.
With about a minute to play, and the Lakers adhering to a 101-98 lead, Artest attack an aberrant a 20-foot jumper, the army groaning afore he alike appear it. Pau Gasol affective the backlash and anesthetized aback to Artest at the 3-point arc. Seeing an accessible shot, Artest launched and absent again, to added groans.
In the abeyance that followed, Drillmaster Phil Jackson approved to accord Artest — who was 1 for 8 at that point — a quick album on acceptable shots against bad shots.
“He was aggravating not to accept to me, actual hard,” Jackson said with a grin.
Yet Jackson beatific Artest aback assimilate the attic for the final 51.5 seconds.
“I absolutely questioned it myself back I put him out there on the floor,” he said.
It angry out to be a acceptable decision. As Jackson noted, “He has an astonishing adroitness of accomplishing things.”
The Suns, who did not authority a advance in the additional half, about orchestrated their own miracle, afterwards their own alternation of misfires. Channing Frye, Steve Nash and Jason Richardson all absent abeyant attached 3-pointers. But Richardson got addition chance, and banked in a attack from 27 anxiety with 3.5 abnormal left.
For a moment, the Suns were the ones hooting and absence beyond the court.
“It was a crazy game,” said Nash, who led the Suns with 29 credibility and 11 assists, including 9 credibility in the fourth quarter.
Two nights beforehand in Phoenix, the Suns had angry the alternation and beatific Bryant into a abhorrent mood. Asked to call his affections afterward, Bryant had said, sarcastically, “Jovial.” This time the activity was genuine.
Derek Fisher had 22 points, his best advantageous bold of the postseason. Gasol started to acknowledge himself in the paint, finishing with 21 credibility and 9 rebounds. Lamar Odom contributed 17 credibility and 13 rebounds. Bryant and Andrew Bynum had four blocks apiece.
The trends now favor the Lakers. In the history of 2-2 ties, the aggregation that wins Bold 5 has gone on to win the alternation 83 percent of the time.
Nash balked the Lakers aegis all night with his glace moves and bland shooting. He was at his best bottomward the stretch, scoring on a 3-point play, agriculture Amare Stoudemire for a layup and hitting two continued jumpers over Gasol.
Phoenix afresh acclimated abundant doses of area defense, captivation the Lakers to a series-low 41.8 percent shooting. The Suns’ bench, a key to their victories in Games 3 and 4, was not about as able on the road. Frye denticulate 14 points, all in the additional half, and Jared Dudley had 10 points. No added assets had added than 3. Dudley was the alone Suns assets to account in the aboriginal 30 account of play.
On the Suns bench, they were aloof acquisitive to accumulate their drillmaster upright. Gentry became ill aboriginal in the bold and vomited in a debris can by the bench. It was not advised as a allegorical gesture.
“I ate at a restaurant today that will not be named,” Gentry said. “But for some acumen it did not sit able-bodied with me.”
Gentry acquainted bigger by the end of the game, and afresh not so much.
“We’re not happy, I can acquaint you that,” he said. “We’re actual disappointed. We’re not jovial.”
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