LOS ANGELES — Everything but the kitchen sink? Heck, Denver threw a Home Depot of kitchen sinks at Kobe Bryant. Zone, man, Kenyon Martin, Linas Kleiza. It didn’t matter. Kobe is Kobe.
Los Angeles took a 2-0 Western Conference playoff series lead with a 122-107 victory Wednesday night, thanks to a classic performance by No. 24 in gold. Bryant scored a game-high 49 points and added a game-high 10 assists, as he dominated from the opening tip.
Denver couldn’t rattle Bryant, who was unfazed by Denver’s defense, hitting uncontested jumpers with ease. At halftime, Bryant had scored 25 points, including 20 for the first quarter, a personal playoff record for one quarter.
“What could we do?” Denver guard Allen Iverson said. “Somebody gets into a groove like that, it’s just hard to stop him. The way he was going, we could have put 10 people out there on the court and wouldn’t be able to stop him. He put his team on his back and carried them.”
With 2:02 left in the game, and Los Angeles leading by 19 points, Bryant was replaced by reserve Coby Karl, son of Denver coach George Karl. As Bryant walked to the bench, the crowd chanted “MVP! MVP!” At that moment, Chris Paul was irrelevant.
“I don’t think we’re the first team he’s done this to,” George Karl said. “But it’s very frustrating.”
The Nuggets often have big nights because of their 3-point shooting, and other times, guys such as J.R. Smith bail Denver out of holes with sudden shooting splurges. But the Nuggets made just four 3-pointers all night. And after one half, Denver was 0-for-10 from 3-point range. Meanwhile, the Lakers finished the night 12-for-28 from long range, including 6-for-12 at the half.
Denver trailed 59-49 at the half but made a valiant comeback in the third quarter by going primarily with a 2-3 zone defense. The zone clamped down on the Lakers, who couldn’t run all of their options out of the triangle offense. Moreover, because the Nuggets’ feet were so quick, they were able to provide help-side defense; in the first half, when Denver played man-to-man, the Lakers were so open for jumpers that they could have primped their hair for the camera before shooting. When Linas Kleiza, starting for Denver, made a transition dunk, Denver led 68-67 with 6:01 left in the third, the Nuggets’ first lead of Game 2.
But the Nuggets struggled to hit third-quarter shots and thus had trouble getting back in the zone while in transition. The Lakers adjusted and started hitting outside shots. When Sasha Vujacic hit a corner 3 with 3.2 seconds left in the third, it gave the Lakers an 89-79 lead at the end of the third.
From there, Bryant took over — as if he hadn’t already.
He scored 19 in the final quarter.
“It’s about forcing them to make choices,” Bryant said. “I knew in the third quarter they were going to try to zero in on me, but my teammates are used to making cuts and we took advantage of it, and it softened them up going into the fourth quarter.”
Iverson, a fellow Western Conference all-star, scored a team-high 31 points, many on tough fadeaway jumpers.
But his team shot 44 percent for the night, and forward Carmelo Anthony, rattled by foul trouble, scored 23 points in 32 minutes.
The Nuggets entered the game with 6-foot-8 Kleiza in the starting lineup, giving Denver size and speed. Kleiza showed early bursts of energy. He had six points after one quarter. But he finished the night with just 10 in 33 minutes. He scored 23 off the bench in Game 1. Meanwhile, guard Anthony Carter, coming off the bench for the first time since Nov. 27, played just nine minutes, going scoreless.
Before the game, George Karl spoke so highly of the Lakers’ Lamar Odom’s game that the coach said: “If I couldn’t take Kobe off the court and had the basketball gods give me a favor, I’d probably take Lamar Odom off the court. That’s how valuable I think he is.”
Well, Karl got his wish. Odom battled foul trouble, scoring just four points, with four rebounds and six assists in 23 minutes.
But Karl couldn’t take Kobe off the court.
Benjamin Hochman: 303-954-1294 or bhochman@denverpost.com
KOBE WATCH
Bryant was truly an MVP. The superstar dominated Denver in the Lakers’ 122-107 victory, scoring 49 points — the most the Nuggets have ever given up to an opponent in the playoffs. He added 10 assists and ran the offense like a general. He was 18-for-27 from the field and finished one point off his career playoff high.
First quarter:
Missed just two of his 10 shots, finishing with 20 points. For all of his postseason glory, this was the most points he ever scored in one playoff quarter.
Second quarter:
Cooled off a bit, finished 2-of-5 from the field, but kept his teammates busy by running the floor.
Third quarter:
Again went 2-of-5 from the field but started to dish the ball and had five assists.
Fourth quarter:
Heated up again, hitting long 3-pointers and crazy layups to finish 6-of-7 from the floor and capped a career night before getting pulled with more than two minutes left.
KEY MOMENT
Kobe’s three-point play in the fourth.
With 6:41 left in the game and the Nuggets down just five, the Lakers got a tough offensive rebound and dished the ball to Kobe Bryant at the top of the key. He unleashed a crossover move for a layup while being fouled. After the free throw, it was an eight- point game.
