Classic Kobe & Lebron Battle
Written by John Mbugua
Kobe Bryant Biography & Pictures
Although Kobe and Lebron would carry their teams throughout the bout, there had to be an X Factor for one of the teams. Flip Murray stepped up to the plate.
Murray went off for 14 of his 21 in the fourth quarter, including the game winning free throw with 3.4 seconds left to give the Cleveland Cavaliers a come from behind victory, 96-95.
Kobe Bryant caught the inbound, shook the defender, and launched a straight three pointer...
Straight off the back of the rim.
Bryant scored 38 points, but shot only 5-18 in the second half.
"James, the Cavaliers' star swingman who is third in the NBA at 30.8 points, nearly matched that with 29 on 10-of-24 shooting to go with eight rebounds and seven assists."
"After a great win like that, you don't want everyone to scatter," James said. "I wanted to get everybody together and let them know that we are all in. I don't get caught up in the (Kobe-LeBron) hype. It's all about the team for me. Winning ballgames is special to me, and that is all I care about."
The Lakers led by 18 points at one point, but conceded a painful loss in the final seconds.
"We were looking for a boost and he (Murray) did it for us," Ilgauskas said. "If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't be celebrating this win."
"Eric Snow's defense on Kobe Bryant in the second half was about as good as you can get," Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said. "We decided to blitz Kobe a little bit on pick-and-rolls."
"I'm always going to look to be aggressive and take those shots, but we let this one get away because we lacked defensive intensity in the fourth quarter," Bryant said.
"I saw Kobe cut to the ball, so I threw it to him," Walton said. "We blew another one. Same as the New Jersey game. We've got to find a way to win these games or we're going to be done April 19."
The series is now 3-2 in favor of Kobe.
Written by John Mbugua
Kobe Bryant Biography & Pictures
Kobe Bryant Biography & Pictures
Although Kobe and Lebron would carry their teams throughout the bout, there had to be an X Factor for one of the teams. Flip Murray stepped up to the plate.
Murray went off for 14 of his 21 in the fourth quarter, including the game winning free throw with 3.4 seconds left to give the Cleveland Cavaliers a come from behind victory, 96-95.
Kobe Bryant caught the inbound, shook the defender, and launched a straight three pointer...
Straight off the back of the rim.
Bryant scored 38 points, but shot only 5-18 in the second half.
"James, the Cavaliers' star swingman who is third in the NBA at 30.8 points, nearly matched that with 29 on 10-of-24 shooting to go with eight rebounds and seven assists."
"After a great win like that, you don't want everyone to scatter," James said. "I wanted to get everybody together and let them know that we are all in. I don't get caught up in the (Kobe-LeBron) hype. It's all about the team for me. Winning ballgames is special to me, and that is all I care about."
The Lakers led by 18 points at one point, but conceded a painful loss in the final seconds.
"We were looking for a boost and he (Murray) did it for us," Ilgauskas said. "If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't be celebrating this win."
"Eric Snow's defense on Kobe Bryant in the second half was about as good as you can get," Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said. "We decided to blitz Kobe a little bit on pick-and-rolls."
"I'm always going to look to be aggressive and take those shots, but we let this one get away because we lacked defensive intensity in the fourth quarter," Bryant said.
"I saw Kobe cut to the ball, so I threw it to him," Walton said. "We blew another one. Same as the New Jersey game. We've got to find a way to win these games or we're going to be done April 19."
The series is now 3-2 in favor of Kobe.
Written by John Mbugua
Kobe Bryant Biography & Pictures
NBA Scoreboard
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