LAKERS THUMP NUGGETS TO TAKE SERIES LEAD

Kobe Bryant finally got some help from his teammates on Wednesday night, allowing the Los Angeles Lakers to beat the Denver Nuggets 103-94 in game five of the NBA’s Western Conference Finals.  The enigmatic Lakers now hold a 3-2 series lead with game six set for the Pepsi Center Arena in Denver on Friday night.  The Lakers have never lost a game 5 in a 2-2 series at home in franchise history, posting a 20-0 record in that spot. 

Sports betting enthusiasts who backed the Lakers as -6 home favorites cashed their tickets, with the win/cover by Los Angeles marking only the second Denver loss against the spread in the entire playoffs (now 13-2 ATS).  The 197 combined points scored also went UNDER the posted total of 209, marking the fourth UNDER verdict in the five game series.  Denver is a -5 home favorite in game 6, with the total set at 208’.  The Nuggets have won 18 of their last 21 home playoff games, but the Lakers have been a very profitable 8-2 ATS run this season when getting points.  Totals players should take note that the Lakers have gone UNDER in 12 of their last 17 playoff games, including 9 of 10 in the Western Conference finals.  7 of the last 9 meetings between the two teams in Denver have also failed to exceed the posted point total. 

Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 22 points, but received a solid contribution from his teammates.  Particularly significant was a huge 19 point/14 rebound ‘double/double’ effort off the bench from Lamar Odom. Pau Gasol also added 14 points and 10 rebounds for a ‘double/double’, while Derek Fisher and Trevor Ariza chipped in for 12 apiece.  Denver was paced by Carmelo Anthony’s 31 points, but had only three other players score in double figures:  Chauncey Billups with 12, Kenyon Martin with 12 and Linas Kleiza with 10.  The Lakers’ improved defense played a role in Denver’s offensive woes, as Los Angeles limited to Denver to 38.6% shooting from the field.

Bryant said that getting his teammates more involved in the offense was a deliberate strategy on his part:

"It was a big gamble for me coming in, but I wanted to change my approach this game and be more of a decoy. The past couple games they really were loading to my side and I figured I could be a decoy and try to give chances to my teammates."

He also knows what sort of challenge the Lakers are in for in game 6:

"That place is going to be rocking and rolling. We have to stay focused and poised and try to cut them up. Be cold-blooded, go out there and execute."

Denver’s Carmelo Anthony insisted that the wins and losses in the series came down to which team played the better interior defense:

"The games that we've lost, they had an advantage on the inside. The games that we've won, we had an advantage. We had to go to a smaller lineup tonight and they kept their big lineup on the court. That kind of hurt us a little bit. We've got to do a better job of keeping our big men out of foul trouble."

A Lakers victory in game six would send them to the NBA Finals to await the outcome of the Orlando/Cleveland series.  Should Denver prevail in game 6 the teams would head back to Los Angeles for game seven at The Staples Center on Sunday night.