The Lakers are Kobe Bryant’s team, but tonight this was Pau Gasol’s game. His 33 points, 14 rebounds, and two blocks led the Lakers to a 111-96 win over the Jazz and a sweep of their Western Conference semifinal series.
But the statistics don’t tell the whole story. Gasol dominated the paint, not only scoring, grabbing rebounds, and blocking shots, but cutting off Jazz penetration and turning away drives with those long arms of his.
However, the offensive end was where Gasol really showed off his athleticism, attacking the basket with sweeping hooks, driving under the basket, and passing to the open man or spinning outside for a jump shot. The Jazz had absolutely no answer for Gasol.
As for Bryant, he had 32 points and four assists. Phil Jackson called his game, “persistent and aggressive.” Bryant scored over 30 points in all four games against the Jazz.
Reggie Miller and the rest of the TNT crew covering the game commented that Andrew Bynum had better step up his gam ...
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Article written by Paul Peszko