I was really disappointed yesterday by the Lakers gigantic collapse. I thought they have the game controlled yet the Celtics came back quickly. I don’t have anymore confidence of the Lakers winning the series. I will give it to the Celtics suffocating defense. Kobe, better luck next time. Your team is not enough for a championship yet. But I am not counting you off.
Kobe Bryant was just a couple steps inside the midcourt line, dribbling the ball as he surveyed the scene in front of him, waiting to see whether the Boston Celtics were going to send a second defender his way.
Opposite Bryant, standing just a few steps off him, was Ray Allen, first looking over his left shoulder, then his right, trying to gauge whether another member of the Los Angeles Lakers was going to come out and set a pick.
After a few moments, it became clear: Nobody was coming to help either of them, and one of the key possessions of the NBA Finals was going to come down to a one-on-one matchup between the two superstars who had expressed disdain not all that long ago at simply being mentioned in the same sentence together.
Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers dispatched the defending champions, and now they’re headed to the NBA finals for the first time in four years.
Bryant scored 17 of his 39 points in the fourth quarter, and the Lakers rallied from an early 17-point deficit to beat the San Antonio Spurs 100-92 on Thursday night and win the Western Conference finals in five games.
The Lakers are 12-3 in the playoffs, including 8-0 at Staples Center, where they haven’t lost in two months. They’ve won 14 straight home games and 21 of their last 24 postseason games at home.
The New York Knicks on Thursday outlined the lucrative parameters of a five-year deal they’re prepared to give new No. 1 coaching target Mike D’Antoni, according to NBA coaching sources.
A rival proposal from the Chicago Bulls — the team many still favor to land D’Antoni — is expected by Sunday at the latest, sources said.
Although Knicks president Donnie Walsh, through a team spokesman, insisted Thursday night that the Knicks have not offered “anyone” a coaching contract, that might just be a technicality. Sources close to the process say D’Antoni, who celebrated his 57th birthday Thursday, has had advanced discussions with the Knicks about leaving the desert for Manhattan.
Rick Carlisle is still on the verge of becoming the next coach of the Dallas Mavericks.
Carlisle is the only candidate the team has interviewed since firing Avery Johnson last Wednesday. Negotiations turned serious over the weekend and have continued all week, but as of Wednesday night there were some points still not settled.
However, the most important point — Dallas wanting Carlisle and Carlisle wanting Dallas — seems to be done.
