Bryant shines as Lakers beat Nuggets

LOS ANGELES: Kobe Bryant poured in 49 points to lift the Los Angeles Lakers to a 122-107 victory over the Denver Nuggets in Game 2 of their Western Conference quarterfinal on Thursday.

The all-star guard, urged on by repeated crowd chants of "MVPMVP", also contributed 10 assists and four rebounds as the Lakers took a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Although Denver guard Allen Iversen, with 31 points, and forward Carmelo Anthony, with 23, kept the visitors in touch well into the third period, the Lakers pulled away in the final quarter.

Game 3 is in Denver on Saturday when the Nuggets face the uphill task of battling their way back against the conference top seeds.

Although the Lakers had trouble finishing early on and trailed for much of a high-energy first quarter at a capacity Staples Center, Bryant contributed 20 points to help the home team steal a 33-32 lead.

The Lakers tightened their grip in the second period, Luke Walton, Sasha Vujacic, Bryant and Vladimir Radmanovic each pouring in 3-pointers to put them ahead 59-49 at halftime.

Straight after the break, Spaniard Pau Gasol landed a 2-pointer to give the Lakers a commanding 12-point lead but the Nuggets steadily clawed their way back before edging ahead 68-67.

The tide again turned as Los Angeles hit back, Bryant lifting his own tally to 30 after swooping on a perfect Gasol lay-up before another Vujacic 3-pointer put the Lakers 89-79 up going into the final quarter.

Bryant then delivered a master class with several hard-driving runs, twisting assists and a couple of 3-pointers to strengthen the Lakers grip.

In other NBA playoff games on Wednesday, Kevin Garnett scored 19 points and had 10 rebounds as Boston rolled over Atlanta 96-77 in Game 2 of their opening round playoff series.

Rajon Rondo had 12 points, eight assists, six rebounds and four steals to spearhead a balanced attack for Boston.

Garnett had his second double-double of the series and Ray Allen chipped in 15 points for the Celtics, who took a 2-0 lead and will attempt to put a stranglehold on the series in Game 3 on Saturday in Atlanta.

The Hawks, who have lost five straight dating to the regular season, were led by Josh Smith with 13 points on three-of-13 shooting. Mike Bibby, the new public enemy number one in Boston for comments he made against the fans on Tuesday, scored 12 on two-of-seven shooting.

Bibby scored just 5 points and had one assist in Game 1, while Rondo finished with 15 and nine in roughly six minutes less time. Bibby followed up that effort by chiding Celtics' fans - calling them "bandwagoners" and "fair-weather fans".

Bibby, acquired in a trade with Sacramento this season, was booed each time he touched the ball.

He shot one-of-five and had no assists in the first half, while Rondo recorded six assists, including three on consecutive possessions in the first quarter that gave the Celtics an early 22-11 lead.

In Detroit, Richard Hamilton scored 20 points to lead the offense as the Detroit Pistons bounced back with a convincing 105-88 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers in game two of their series Wednesday.

Antonio McDyess, Tayshaun Prince and Rasheed Wallace all scored 16 points for the Pistons, who are looking to return to the Eastern Conference finals for the sixth-straight season.

Agencies/AFP

(China Daily 04/25/2008 page24)