LOS ANGELES — Kobe Bryant, the sleeping giant, was inexplicably irrelevant. It was the third quarter of the Nuggets-Lakers first playoff game, and the MVP front-runner had only four points, while his Lakers led by only six.
But in the 128-114 victory by Los Angeles, the turning point happened with 9:50 left in that third quarter.
Bryant drove to the basket and was corralled hard by Denver’s Anthony Carter. Then Bryant’s left hand hit Carter in the face, and the Nugget shoved the all-star. A questionable technical was called on a furious Carter.
Bryant made all three free throws, followed by three inspiring tough jumpers in the third quarter. Leading by two entering the third, the Lakers entered the fourth ahead by 19.
“Once they got that foul, we had to play uphill from there,” Denver guard Allen Iverson said. “We just couldn’t get control of the game after that point.”
The same thing happened to Denver eight days earlier in Utah, when the Jazz hit a long hot streak following a Carmelo Anthony flagrant foul. On Sunday, the stakes were frighteningly higher for Denver. The No. 1-seeded Lakers lead the playoff series 1-0, with Game 2 on Wednesday, again at the star-studded Staples Center.
There on Sunday, Bryant snatched the momentum and Pau Gasol, with a game-high 36 points, was momentous.
“I’m pretty sure they won’t break it open like that again,” Anthony said. “I’m pretty sure we’re not going to lay down like we did for a couple minutes.”
The Nuggets’ strategy in Game 1 was to rattle the shooting guard Bryant, and they did so by creatively marking Bryant with power forward Kenyon Martin. Yes, Martin is a power forward. But he is arguably Denver’s best one-on-one defender, and though he’s not as fleet-footed as, say, Iverson, his brawn and tenacity on defense can indeed slow down greatness. Bryant went to the halftime locker room with just four points on 2-for-10 shooting (and Los Angeles led 58-56).
But a storm was brewing.
Without Martin in the low post, there was a void. And, as Lakers coach Phil Jackson said: “We know (Denver) plays passing lanes, blocks shots, run out because it creates easy baskets for them. But if you’re patient and you work the ball, changing sides of the floor, you can find a way to get the ball inside for easy baskets.”
Gasol, acquired in February to bolster the Lakers’ low post for the playoffs, played like Wilt Chamberlain.
At the half, he already had 18 points, and when the game was over, his line was cartoon-like: 36 points, 14-for-20 shooting, 8-for-8 from the line, 16 rebounds, eight assists and three blocked shots.
“We just have to come out with a different game plan as far as stopping their two-man game and the pick-and-roll,” Carter said. “They’ll kick it to one of the big men, they’ll play the high-low game. Gasol had a great game. Kenyon did a great job on Kobe, and you can’t ask for nothing more. We’re going to have to make other people beat us.”
Denver center Marcus Camby, the reigning defensive player of the year, was often the defender guarding Gasol. But Nuggets coach George Karl was hesitant to point the finger at Camby; instead he explained that the Lakers’ ball movement buried Denver.
“I think the film will show it was the L.A. Lakers that tore us up,” Karl said. “I think (my son and seldom-used Laker guard) Coby Karl could have scored the baskets he (Gasol) did.”
Offensively, Iverson got his points, and so did Anthony — they each scored 30 points, while Anthony shot free throws with the crowd chanting: “D-U-I!” But neither was able to take over the game in the second half, the way they did in big wins down the stretch of the season.
Reserve forward Linas Kleiza was a bright spot, following a lackluster playoff performance last season. Kleiza scored 23 points in 38 minutes, his most minutes since Jan. 30.
Bryant did finish with 32 points, but considering that 18 came in the blowout fourth quarter, Denver did a pretty good job containing the perennial all-star.
Except for, of course, when it mattered most.
Benjamin Hochman: 303-954-1294 or bhochman@denverpost.com
KOBE WATCH
A look at how the Nuggets tried to contain Lakers star Kobe Bryant, above, who finished with 32 points (9-for-26 from the field, 13-for-14 free throws) in Game 1:
First quarter:
Anthony Carter, Linas Kleiza and Kenyon Martin guarded Bryant. Bryant shot 1-of-7 and scored two points.
Second quarter:
Martin checked Bryant most of the time. Bryant shot 1-of-3, finishing the first half just 2-of-10 from the field.
Third quarter:
Martin took Bryant, who picked up his fourth foul during the quarter — as did Martin. Bryant shot 3-of-6 in the quarter and scored 10 points.
Fourth quarter:
J.R. Smith drew the duty while Martin was on the bench with foul trouble. Smith stayed on Bryant even after Martin returned, but Smith fouled out trying to guard Bryant. Carter then picked up Bryant and gave up an alley-oop on the first play. Bryant hit 4-of-10 shots and scored 18 points.
KEY MOMENT
Lakers seize control.
Los Angeles grabbed the momentum with 9:50 left in the third quarter following Anthony Carter’s foul and technical foul on Kobe Bryant. The Lakers took a nine-point lead. Then, Bryant had another three-point play when he hit a tough jumper with 6:45 left in the third while being fouled by Kenyon Martin, and the Lakers led by 12. From that point on, the lead was reduced to single digits for only 34 seconds.
Benjamin Hochman, The Denver Post
