Colorado here he comes

Game one saw the Lakeshow outplayed by the Nuggets, yet they held home court and got the win. This despite the fact that everything went right for baby blue clad visitors. Scoring machine Carmelo Anthony exploded for 39 points and let everyone know he was feeling it with his on court antics…tongue wagging, tooth flashing, high fiving and generally having a good time in the Lakers house…no smiling for Melo after the end of regulation though, the Lakers made sure of that with timely shots by veteran leader Derek Fisher and clutch free throws by The Black Mamba who was 9-9 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter alone. Had the Nuggets not missed so many freebies at the charity stripe, they would have won this game and put the purple and gold on their heels for the second straight series. After having their heart publicly questioned by many (myself included) during the seven game Houston war, the Lakers responded with a display of tenacity that saw them slowly dig out of an early hole once again because they fell behind by 13 in the opening quarter. They chipped away during the middle two quarters, gaining steam before the half om a deep three buried by Fish going into the half. The third quarter ended with them down by seven and they trudged forward with soldier like efficiency the rest of the way, eventually extending their playoff dominance over Denver for their eleventh straight post season win over the scrappy Nuggets.

Chauncy Billups was hitting the kind of clutch fourth quarter shots that earned him his nickname; Mr. Big Shot. Kenyon Martin was a defensive presence in the paint and saw multiple frozen rope J’s flutter through the twine, Nene looked like Shaq half the time by throwing down uncontested dunks in traffic. The cockatiel…I mean, the Birdman wasn’t much of a factor, but at least he was fun to look at and JR Smith was a non factor but it still felt like the Lakers withstood Denver’s best punches and somehow managed to come out on top regardless. It was exciting and went down to the wire, but in the end, the Lakers merely did what they were supposed to do and won at home.

Game two could re-open old wounds if the bi-polar Lakers allow their bored side to resurface, but the first quarter saw a focused Lakers squad compete like it was the 5th quarter of game one, which was encouraging to this diehard. BrokeJake Gyllenhaal was courtside without his Legally Blonde gal Reese, Trojan alum WillyBobby Farrell wore a purple GO LAKERS t-shirt, Tom Cruisentology actually curbed his Katie enthusiasm and stayed seated and the home team dunked their way to a 23-16 lead before the sponsors took over for two and two. Big Bird dunked on the knee high black socks sporting Birdman to make it 27-19 before Chauncey leaned into Sasha to draw a foul…surprisingly Vujacic didn’t agree with the zebra and prayed for a minute while doing his best Danny Ainge face. Bryant drops 14, the Lakers work the paint and end the first 12 minutes with an encouraging 31-23 spread.

The lead afforded Kobe some pine time and the solid play of the new backcourt tandem of Shannon Brown & Jordan Farmar kept him there for a nice chunk of clock. Celebrity round-up part two showcased Desperate Housewife Teri Hatcher, a smiling and glad to be on the ground after that thing on the wing scare John Lithgow, The Governator’s favorite Kennedy, Skeletor Shriver and of course, the Jackinator at his customary spot along side his pal who owns nothing but white rimmed glasses- Lou Adler. The Nuggz Brian Urlacher twin Linus Kleiza had to hack Dumbo Farmar for Kobe to rise up from the scaffolding with just under 5 minutes left and the home team still sporting a twelve point spread. He wasted no time hitting a two footer in the lane countered by Melo’s quick retort to make it 49-38. A Bynum cherry pick dunk for his 9th point made it 51 and then Ozzy Osbourne tried to sell me a cell phone before I hit fast forward to spot a Jerry Maguire step kid rocking a Nuggz jersey in the crowd. Lakers all time #2 playoff scorer Bryant continues to chip away at Jerry West’s record before Chauncy drills an open trey and Odom goes Kwame, missing a six inch cripple and the pesky visitors cut the lead to only one point behind a 12-0 run. Lamar redeems himself with a 15 foot jumper and a blocked shot before Billups clowns Bryant on the inbounds play by tossing the ball off Kobe’s rump to himself for an easy lay-up…55-54 at the half…looks like it’s back to sleepwalking for L.A. Will they EVER learn? Mr. Momentum always wears the colors of the team that stays with the EFFORT. Closing the half, that team wore shiny powder blue and gold.

After some tug of war to open the 3rd, in which Denver briefly snatches the lead, Trevor Ariza hits a couple shots then hit’s the deck hard, but gets up like Rocky…CUT ME MICK!…That’s the kind of heart that earns rings. I think we’re in for a dogfight…75-71 Lakers after Kobe takes flight from the baseline for a two handed yam. No let up Lakes….no surrender….no quarter….know your enemy…it’s YOU. If they keep fighting like this they will go up 2-0. But the ink heavy, headband sportin Nuggz are going to do everything in their power to steal one…and snatch home court advantage in the process. Carmelo and Kobe each accept the challenge and guard each other showing why they’re considered two of the best in the game and Olympians with clutch shots and hustle but Denver builds a seven point lead early in the final quarter. Shannon Brown’s three gets the Lakers back to within one 92-91 with 6 minutes remaining. Lakers nut Nicholson is seen berating the zebras in the background while Nuggcoach Karl chills in the foreground. I always feel a fair game will be called when Dick Bavetta’s on the floor…problem is, Steve Javie’s in the building too….yin and yang….where’s Donaghey when you need him?

Looks like it’s going to be a free throw fest the rest of the way….better play some defense Lakers.

Calls going Denver’s way…Kobe said before the game he was done getting techs…somehow I don’t believe him. Ariza continues to look like Micheal Cooper’s clone with a steal…then K-Mart goes Thugget and bumps Gasoft into the stands and again, the zebras swallow the whistles and I start scanning the crowd for blonde concierges because I could swear by the calls this game is being played in Colorado…ooop…3 pointer for Kobe gets him to 30 for the evening, it’s now101-99 Nuggz. Here come that man…The Mamba stops and pops from 12 feet out to find the bottom of the net to tie it up. Melo creates one for Martin to snatch it right back 103-101 then the muggz by the Thuggz starts and still no whistles…I scan the crowd again, but the floor reads Lakers…my confusion grows along with the Denver lead. Game over.

So much for home court advantage…Congratulations to the Mile High City.

They say a series doesn’t really start until a team loses at home…

Ladies and gentlemen, we have another series.

…Kobe...back in Colorado.




Uh-oh.