LOS ANGELES — At the Staples Center, amid a sea of gold swooping toward the jerseys of Magic and Kareem in the rafters, a purple sign popped up, the words screaming like the fan hoisting them: KOBE DIEM.
In Thursday’s Game 1 of the NBA Finals, the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant played with “carpe diem” seemingly tattooed to his shooting hand, leading Los Angeles to a 100-75 rousting of Orlando. Indeed, Bryant seized the day, seized the moment, seized the legend.
“I just want it so bad,” said Bryant, who had 40 points, his career high in an NBA Finals game, along with eight rebounds and eight assists. “You just put everything you have into the game, and your emotions just kind of flow out of you.”
Following his Game 6 smackdown of Denver in the conference finals, Bryant admittedly hadn’t slept well, seized by anxiety and pressure. Bryant is arguably the best or second-best player alive, but he has twice failed in the Finals since Shaquille O’Neal left L.A.
“My kids call me ‘Grumpy’ from the ‘Seven Dwarfs,’ ” Bryant said. “That’s how I’ve been at home. Just a grouch.”
He sure looked like an Oscar on Thursday — Robertson.
Bryant flirted with a triple-double, fearlessly attacking defenders Courtney Lee and Mickael Pietrus, shooting 16-for-34 from the field. In the second quarter, Bryant and the Lakers exploited the Magic’s soft pick-and-roll defense, giving Bryant open space on jumpers — and as Denverites know, all Bryant needs is a couple of centi-meters of space to nail a dagger. In the second quarter alone, Bryant scored 12 points on 6-for-9 shooting, and the Lakers led by 10 at the half.
Sensing the moment, Bryant poured in 18 in the third, and the sea of gold flooded the 101 by the time Josh Powell checked into the game.
“Nobody’s effort was there,” Magic center Dwight Howard said of his team. “We just weren’t fighting. That’s not Magic basketball.”
Kobe was the story, but the Lakers team set the tone for the series with its defense. Oh, my, it was good. The Magic shot just 29.9 percent from the field. Their leading scorer? Pietrus. And the reserve only had 14 points. Howard, fresh off 40 points in the conference finals clincher, scored just 12, shooting 1-for-6 from the field (even backup Marcin Gortat made two field goals). Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the Lakers legend, is now a popular “tweeter” (@kaj33), and moments after the game, Kareem tweeted: “Tonight the Magic starred in ‘Lost.’ ”
So how did the Lakers “kryptonite” Superman? Howard said they “really sat in my lap and forced me to pass it out. They forced me baseline, and when I tried to turn baseline, they had somebody waiting for me.”
Howard, in his first game on this stage, admitted he needed to be more patient. But credit Andrew Bynum, the erstwhile Lakers post who showed up Thursday, banging bodies with Howard and making hard but sensible fouls.
Lakers post Pau Gasol, who tallied a workmanlike 16 points and eight rebounds, also spent some time surrounding Howard, and he explained the key is to stay active, move your feet and “not allow him to get a feel for me. He digs in a lot in the lane and rolls hard in the lane. You have to be able to move around because if you let him hit you with his body, he’s going to gain ground and get that position.”
But what was fascinating about the Lakers’ defense was it also kept Magic from getting into a 3-point rhythm, something seen in the pivotal Game 5 of the Nuggets-Lakers series, when Denver was 7-for-24 from 3-point range. On Thursday, the Magic was 8-for-23 (34.8), and Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis combined for just three 3s.
“We wanted to mix it up, and we did a good job of not letting them get open looks,” Lakers reserve Luke Walton said. “But they’re obviously going to shoot the ball better than that, they’re obviously going to play better than that. So we can’t get high on ourselves. We need to go home, relax and get ready for Game 2, because even though we won by a lot, realistically we haven’t done anything except win Game 1 on our home court.”
Benjamin Hochman: 303-954-1294 or bhochman@denverpost.com
Around the Rim
Hero:
Obviously, it is the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant, who took over the game like the legend he is. In the third quarter alone he scored 18 points on 6-for-11 shooting (6-for-6 from the line). He finished with 40 points.
Zero:
Battling foul trouble and struggling to find his rhythm, Orlando’s Dwight Howard was irrelevant. He was 1-of-6 shooting and finished with 12 points (10 on free throws).
Chalk talk:
The Magic tried to put Courtney Lee on Bryant in sort of a Dahntay Jones role, but that didn’t work. Neither did the Mickael Pietrus move. Nothing could have stopped Bryant.
Kobe time:
Standing on the right perimeter, Bryant threw a two-handed overhead pass to a cutting Lamar Odom for a layup, giving the Lakers a 47-39 lead in the second quarter.
Scene:
Unlike some of the games against the Nuggets here, the Lakers fans were loud from the get-go, providing a nice homecourt advantage. Celeb sightings included Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Denzel Washington, Leonardo DiCaprio, Andy Garcia and Kevin Connolly.
Finals schedule
Lakers lead series 1-0
Thursday: L.A. Lakers 100, Orlando 75
Sunday: Orlando at L.A. Lakers, 6 p.m.
Tuesday: L.A. Lakers at Orlando, 7 p.m.
Thursday: L.A. Lakers at Orlando, 7 p.m.
Sunday, June 14: L.A. Lakers at Orlando, 6 p.m.*
Tuesday, June 16: Orlando at L.A. Lakers, 7 p.m.*
Thursday, June 18: Orlando at L.A. Lakers, 7 p.m.*
* — If necessary
