If there is such a thing as a stress-free night in late May, if a conference title can be claimed with a steady gaze and a Zen-like calm, then the Los Angeles Lakers just provided a live demonstration.
It was in their demeanor from the opening tip on Friday night and in their commentary that morning.
“We’re laid-back, right?” Lamar Odom said at the Lakers’ shootaround. “The beach boys.”
PHOTO: AP
But not too laid-back, he added quickly.
When the moment of truth came, the Lakers left little doubt about their persona, mixing a fierce determination with a mellow self-assurance as they routed the Denver Nuggets 119-92 and clinched their second straight Western Conference title.
The Lakers took the series, 4-2, and will make their fifth trip of the decade to the NBA finals, which begin on Thursday. They now await either Cleveland or Orlando. The Magic had a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference finals on Friday.
This had been a taut series, rife with hard fouls, accusations of dirty play and complaints about officiating. There was nothing to debate in the finale.
The Lakers pounced early, rode Kobe Bryant’s hot hand and squeezed the life out of the Pepsi Center. They led by double digits for almost the entire second half and by as many as 29 points.
The modern-day Nuggets had never been this far before and they seemed unable to meet the intensity of the moment. In his postgame news conference, coach George Karl praised his team for a great season, but apologized to fans for failing to give a better performance.
“Tonight wasn’t Nugget basketball,” he said.
After alternating between scorer and playmaker in the series, Bryant combined the best of everything on Friday, with 35 points, 10 assists and six rebounds. He propelled the Lakers through every big run of the night.
Bryant got ample help from his resurgent supporting cast, including 20 points, 12 rebounds and six assists from Pau Gasol and 20 points from Lamar Odom. Trevor Ariza added 17 points and the Lakers shot a blistering 57.3 percent from the field.
After being bullied at times in the series, the Lakers won the rebounding battle, 38-27.
The Lakers stayed on the attack throughout Game 6. Bryant and Derek Fisher, veterans of three championships, pushed and prodded and exhorted their teammates all night.
When the Nuggets pulled within nine points in the third quarter, Gasol, Luke Walton and Bryant combined for a 7-0 burst to pull away again. When Denver came alive with an 8-0 rally, including three-pointers from J.R. Smith and Linas Kleiza, the Lakers answered with a 9-0 run.
The Nuggets never got the sustained offensive push they needed. Carmelo Anthony had 25 points but went 6 for 17 from the field and was ineffective when the game was still close. Chauncey Billups had 10 points and nine assists and went 2 for 7.
The tone was set when the Lakers closed the first half on a Bryant-fueled 21-7 run. He scored 11 points in the final 3 minutes 9 seconds, hit Ariza for a three-pointer along the way, and then blocked Anthony’s driving layup attempt in the final second to give the Lakers a 13-point lead at halftime.
“No one in basketball could have covered him,” Karl said. “He made about four shots in that stretch that I think Jesus would have had trouble covering him.”
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