LOS ANGELES—Linas Kleiza went scoreless in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals. The reserve forward came up big for the Denver Nuggets in their 106-103 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 2 on Thursday night.
Kleiza finished with 16 points, including going 4 for 7 from 3-point range, and grabbed eight rebounds in what was easily his best postseason performance this season. He played 22 minutes, more than triple the time he saw in Game 1.
“It’s huge,” Kenyon Martin said of his teammate’s production. “He’s been struggling with his shot and not having his confidence there, but he stuck with it. When your number is called, you have to capitalize on it. We needed his play tonight and he did an excellent job on the glass for us and knocking down shots. To have a guy like him come off the bench who they probably wasn’t expecting to play as well, that’s what’s the X-factor is for.”
The Nuggets needed the spark. Only Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups and Martin provided offensive relief for the Nuggets.
Anthony led Denver with 34 points, Billups added 27 and Martin 14.
Dahntay Jones picked up three early fouls and headed for the bench and J.R. Smith was limited because of a calf strain. Chris Andersen only had two points off the bench for the Nuggets.
The attention on Billups and Anthony left Kleiza open in the corners.
That gave the Lithuania native an opportunity he jumped on.
“When you’re playing with Chauncey and Melo on the same team, they kind of collapse on them. So you have to be ready because the shots are going to be there,” said Kleiza, who played at Missouri. “Their defense is based on that, somebody is going to be open. Today we were able to knock shots down.”
Kleiza’s 3-pointer with 10:48 to go gave the Nuggets an 85-82 lead, their first of the game. He was a key part of a 16-4 run to close the first half that helped Denver overcome a 14-point deficit early in the second quarter to get within 55-54 at halftime.
“They kind of had it their way and LK stepped in,” Billups said. “He stepped in and hit some big, big shots for us.”
Kleiza was certainly a player under the radar coming into the series. He was averaging 6.4 points and 2.6 rebounds entering Thursday’s game. His four 3-pointers were a career playoff-high.
His production was something the Lakers could have used from their reserves, who managed a total of 22 points, 10 from Lamar Odom and eight from Shannon Brown.
