Lakers in the Final

Kobe Bryant scored 35 points to guide the Los Angeles Lakers back to the NBA Finals with a 119-92 rout of the Denver Nuggets on Friday, as the visitors closed out their Western Conference series in style.

Bryant added 10 assists while team mates Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom had 20 points apiece in one of the most complete post-season outings for the Lakers, who triumphed 4-2 in the best-of-seven series.

"We had the effort and the execution to match (tonight)," Bryant told reporters after clinching his sixth career NBA Finals appearance and second straight.

"It's been a physical march back to the finals. We're back to the place where we didn't finish our business last year.

"Hopefully we do it this year."

Los Angeles, who were beaten by the Boston Celtics in last year's title showdown, await the winner of the Eastern Conference finals series between the Orlando Magic and Cleveland Cavaliers.

Denver's Carmelo Anthony had a team-high 25 points while shooting just 6-for-17 from the field and J.R. Smith chipped in 24 points for the Nuggets, who struggled out of the gate and never recovered.

Cavaliers beat Magic to stay alive in NBA East

LeBron James had a triple double as Cleveland staved off elimination by beating Orlando 112-102 in game five of the Eastern Conference championship series.

James and the Cavaliers clamped down in the fourth quarter after blowing a 22 point first half lead to cut the Magic's best-of-seven series lead to three games to two.

"It was a big game for us," said James, who had 37 points, 14 rebounds, 12 assists. "You never want to disappoint by not playing as hard as you can. It is win or go home."

Dwight Howard had 24 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out for the Magic who are trying to end a 14 year finals drought. Hedo Turkoglu led the Magic with 29 points.

James carried the Cavaliers on his back in the fourth as he had a hand in 29 of the 34 points Cleveland scored in the final 12 minutes.

He had 17 points in the final quarter and 24 in the first half.

"That's what great players do. They put teams on their back," said Cleveland coach Mike Brown.

Game six is Saturday in Orlando with game seven if necessary Monday in Cleveland.

Lakers dominate 4th Quarter to take Game 5 from Nuggets

The Lakers owned the fourth quarter against Denver. Now they have a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference finals. Kobe Bryant scored 22 points, Lamar Odom had 19 points and 14 rebounds and Pau Gasol added 14 points and 10 rebounds in Los Angeles' 103-94 victory Wednesday night.

Game 6 is Friday in Denver, where the Lakers lost Game 4 by 19 points.

"Got to come ready to play," Bryant said. "We made a lot of mistakes the last time, the mistakes that took place were execution, and we didn't do things at the defensive end.

"We'll come ready to play."

Carmelo Anthony scored 31 points, hitting 12 of 13 free throws, and Kenyon Martin and Chauncey Billups added 12 points each for the Nuggets.

The teams were tied after the first, second and third quarters for just the fourth time in NBA playoff history.

So it all came down to the final 12 minutes.

Bryant, Odom and Gasol teamed for all but seven of the Lakers' points in the fourth. They opened on an 11-0 run for their first lead of the second half and it was capped by Shannon Brown's jumper that beat the shot clock.

The Nuggets used a 13-6 run to close to 93-89. Linas Kleiza scored seven straight and Anthony had six in the spurt.

But then the Lakers regained control and finished off the victory. They improved to 20-0 in Game 5s at home when a series is tied 2-2.

Magic - Cavaliers 116-114

Dwight Howard scored 10 points in overtime and the Orlando Magic, raining down 3-pointers like a Florida thunderstorm, withstood 44 points and a last-second shot by LeBron James for a 116-114 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night to take a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.

Howard finished with 27 points, 14 rebounds and again made his free throws — 7 of 9 — for the resilient Magic, who made a team record 17 3-pointers — 11 after halftime.

Orlando can earn its first trip to the NBA finals since 1995 with a win in Game 5 on Thursday night in Cleveland.

Rafer Alston added 26 points and Rashard Lewis and Mickael Pietrus had 17 each for the Magic.

James was spectacular again, adding 12 rebounds and seven assists, but he had eight turnovers for the Cavs, whose season of seasons is slipping away.

Hornets' Chandler and Posey have successful surgeries

James Posey
and
Tyson Chandler


The New Orleans Hornets say center Tyson Chandler and forward James Posey both had successful surgeries for their injuries.

Team spokesman Dennis Rogers said late Tuesday that Chandler had a procedure on his left ankle to relieve inflammation and another on his left toe.

Posey's surgery was on his right knee.

Chandler, who averaged 8.8 points, missed 29 games in the regular season and the last playoff game because of the ankle injury. His trade to Oklahoma City this year was rescinded because of concerns over the toe.

Posey, who averaged almost nine points as a reserve, hurt his knee in Game 3 of the first round of the playoffs against Denver but played through it.

Both are expected at training camp in October.

The Nuggets beat the Los Angeles Lakers 120-101 on Monday night, evening the Western Conference finals at two games apiece.

A dominating effort on the boards and a great performance by the bench helped the Denver Nuggets overcome a below-par effort from an ailing Carmelo Anthony.

Chauncey Billups and J.R. Smith scored 24 points and Kenyon Martin had a double-double as the Nuggets posted their eighth blowout of the postseason but first against Los Angeles following three games that came down to the final seconds.

The Nuggets didn't need to worry about a botched inbounds pass in the closing seconds like the ones that cost them wins in Games 1 and 3, although Kobe Bryant had another monster fourth quarter in a furious attempt to put a stranglehold on the series that shifts to Los Angeles for Game 5 Wednesday night.

Orlando Magic withstood a 41-point performance from LeBron James to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 99-89 and take a two games to one lead in their NBA semi-final series.

Dwight Howard had 24 points in just 28 minutes of playing time for the Magic who would have a 3-0 series lead if not for James' three point buzzer beater in game two.

"We just kept fighting," Howard said. "That's what we do. We fight to the end."

Howard, who sat most of the first half because of foul trouble, went 14-of-19 from the free throw line and had nine rebounds.

Orlando may not have been able to stop James on Sunday, but they controlled the rest of the Cavalier players.

Game four is Tuesday and in his dressing room speech immediately following the game, Magic coach Stan Van Gundy told the players to keep their celebrations to a minimum.

Kobe Bryant's 3-pointer wasn't nearly as dramatic as LeBron James' but equally effective. Bryant's big shot over J.R. Smith gave Los Angeles a one-point lead with just over a minute left Saturday night and sparked the Lakers to a 103-97 victory over the downtrodden Denver Nuggets for a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference finals.

Bryant, who scored 41 points, went 5-of-6 on free throws to ice it after his 3-pointer gave Los Angeles a 96-95 lead.

Carmelo Anthony scored 21 points but just three after halftime for Denver, which lost at home for the first time since March 9. He was 4-for-13 in his worst performance of the postseason.

The Nuggets, who led most of the game but were done in by poor decisions and a failure to keep their composure, fell behind by four points when Trevor Ariza stole Kenyon Martin's inbounds pass, was fouled by Anthony and sank two foul shots for a 99-95 lead with 36 seconds left.

Chauncey Billups' two free throws made it 99-97, but Bryant sank two more free throws with 22 seconds remaining, Billups missed a 3-pointer and Bryant capped his big night with two more foul shots with 12 seconds left.

Game 4 will be on Monday , on Lakers' court.

You can check Kobe Bryant's amazing shot by scrolling down and playing the "Play of the day" video in the right of the page.

Carmelo "Melo" Anthony

Mavericks' forward Josh Howard underwent successful arthroscopic surgery to his left wrist and left ankle in New York.

Howard missed 22 games this season because of the ankle but returned in late March and helped the Mavericks to a first-round playoff win against San Antonio. They were eliminated after 5 games by Denver. He averaged 15.8 points during the playoffs.

The team expects Howard back in Dallas this weekend to begin rehabilitation.