Last nights game started out pretty much like the game before. The New Orleans Hornets came out ready to play with no fear of the big stage in Hollywood. They were shooting a scorching 81% from the floor in the first quarter going 13-16. By the 2nd quarter they shot 61%, and as the Laker defense continued to become relevant, they shot just 49% over the final quarters. The Lakers came out active as well. Their first two possessions were thrown inside. No 3 point attempts from Ron Ron until later, they followed the game plan and began pounding the ball inside. We had six Lakers in double figures. Criticize Fish all you want too, but he shows up in the postseason. He had 13 points and was 5-6 from the field. The NBA citizen of the year  Ron Artest continued his solid post season play and had 11 points.

That mainly had to do with the state of  Kobes ankle. With rumors circling that he refused an MRI, we all knew he would play, but we weren't sure how effective he would be. He actually stated after the game "Even if I would've gotten an MRI who's to say I wouldve told you guys what it said anyway? I was playing regardless." In the first quarter Kobe looked sort of slow, like he was favoring the ankle. Trevor Ariza was running circles around him. He played 9 minutes and had one point. Phil then sat him on the bench later stating his was becoming a liability out here. But,.......then came the 2nd quarter. With the bench playing surprisingly well Kobe got a bit of the rest. He started to get warm with a jumper in Trevor Arizas face. Then as Trevor was making a run to the basket Kobe grabbed him around the waist and the ref had nerve to call continuation, after Trevor traveled! This seem to ignite Kobe.He was livid, and then he was amazing. With the game tied at 44, like a flash he got into his imaginary phone booth, slipped on the #8 jersey and went to work. He ran right to the lane, switched hands and made a poster out of Okafur. He dunked on Burbon Street and the Staples Center including the Laker bench exploded. Shannon later said "Kobe had his afro back! I haven't seen him dunk like that in years!" Kobe said to Shannon " Yeah you were like 2 years old." That was the play that changed the game as well as the series. He told his ankle and foot to sit down and shut up! The Hornets knew that song all too well. " What ankle problem," Trevor said sarcastically . Coach Monte Williams chimed in as well, " Some ankle problem." Okafur said " Hes Kobe Bryant, he will play on one leg if he had too." He later said it looked like Okafur would try to challenge the shot and he decided to take the challenge. " I didn't expect him to do that," Okafur said " It kind of surprised me. I wasn't expecting a dunk.It was the last thing on my mind. I was expecting him to do some tricky stuff, my mind said " Stay on your feet, don't foul, he cocked it back, and before I realized it it was too late." Yup he became a poster. Lets take a moment of silence for the career New Orleans center, and for me because when Kobe did that I died. This blog is actually being written by my corpse.

Leaving on crutches the game before, #24 turned into Vintage Kobe with lucky lint in his hair. But, he wasn't done. On the other end he made another monster jam, this time with the left hand! This ignited a 10-0 run in the Lakers and they never looked back. He got 12 points in that quarter and  finished the game with 19 points. When asked about his athleticism he said " Its always there.Its not something I want to do all the time, especially not in an 82 game season, but its there." With them holding the lead Kobe was allowed to get some much needed rest and ankle treatment on the bench playing only about 28 minutes.

The bench actually stepped up in his absence. They were a plus 15 while he was resting. Lamar Odum was having a horrible night, but instead of fading into the background he fought hard and ended up with 13. The Killer Bees were in full effect. The Amber Alert on Shannons jump shot worked because he nailed 2 three pointers back to back. Steve Blake got in on some of the 3point action as well. Matt and Blake only combined for 8 points, but the Lakers were a plus 30 while they were in. Matt grabbed 4 offensive boards that turned into 9 Laker points. The Lakers were also uncharacteristically aggressive. Shannon brown got into it with Willie Green and the two had to be separated. Shannon threw an elbow that if it connected, Willie would've been missing a few teeth. Shannon later stated Green has been making sneaky plays after the whistle and he was tired of it

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There also was a Pau Gasol sighting. Now I'm not letting Pau off the hook just yet, he still looked like he had on Mickey Mouse gloves out there. Being punked by Landry, being pushed, and folding like a sheet of paper. He whined on almost every play. Pau you gets no love from the refs let it go. Being all that as it may he actually was more aggressive. He got his feet wet early shooting a few baby jumpers. He even grabbed a few rebounds and altered some shots as well! He still was a bit tentative on offense appearing to be scared to get his shot blocked, but I wont be too hard on him, he finished with no menacing glares from Kobe, 16 points and we needed all 16 to put this resilient Hornets team away.   Pau Gasol actually shoved Landry in the back a few times to gain position. We saw that Pau Gasol yell that we've all grown to love.Like I always say..a grunting Pau is a winning Pau. You love to see him animated and feeling the emotion of the game.

  Bynum even raised his arms ala Ron Artesesque after an And 1. Late in the game Kobe nearly took Bellenellis face off while swatting at the ball.  One of the main reasons we were able to win is because we contained the Hornets bench. Before the game P Jax stated CP3 was gonna get his, just like Kobe will. The object is to not let the others get involved. Mission Accomplished. Jarret Jack had one point,and Aron Grey had none. Willie Green had a few points off the bench, but he never really got going. Bynum also continued to be a threat down low with 18 points and 20 rebounds. Trevor Ariza still looking like he was being controlled by the X Box was a red hot 5-8 from the 3 point line..AND THEY KEPT LEAVING HIM OPEN!! If he got one more 3 ball in the corner pocket I would've driven down to Staples myself and at least put a hand up. Chris Paul of course got his, but he was limited to 20 points and 12 assists.We held him to only six points in the 2nd half. Trevor continued lighting the Lakers up ending with 22 points.Bellanelli was a problem as well adding 21. But, the Laker defense adjusted. NO was outscored 83-58 in the final 3 quarters. The Lakers more importantly won the battle of the glass. Our big men Pau, Bynum, and Odum had a combined 25 boards..so did New Orleans whole team! We out rebounded them 42-25. The Lakers played to their height advantage once again with 42-30 points in the paint.  We also were almost perfect on the offensive glass. We lead the offensive boards column with 22-2 second chance points. We also forced 17 turnovers! The Lakers win by 16.

Some freaky facts for all of you worry warts out there: Lakers have won every series that's tied 2-2 when we win Game 5. Still worried? Phil Jackson is 54-1 when leading in a playoff series. But, the Lakers need to put this away once and for all. With a win tomorrow night the next series wont start until Monday. Last night we showed why we are the champions. We are up, we are down, some say we are out. But when it matters most we rise to the occasion. Kobe puts us on his back as he has so many times, and his legs only seem to get stronger. As we head back to the Hornets nest we seemed to have turned a corner. They still think they can beat us, lucky for us Hornets sting twice and then they die. Too bad for them we have 13 more stings to go and a bottle of  Raid