The Los Angeles Lakers answered Denver’s road win with a road win of their own. Behind 41 points from Kobe Bryant, the Lakers defeated the Nuggets by a score of 103 to 97 to take a two games to one lead in this best-of-seven series.
The Lakers attempted 45 shots from the charity stripe, 31 of which were successful.
Bryant’s 41 points gave him 113 points in the first three games of this series, which broke his own franchise record for most points scored in the first three games of a conference final; Kobe’s previous record was 109 in 2001 against the San Antonio Spurs.
Pau Gasol added 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers.
“I think Gasol was the key to them winning tonight,” said Carmelo Anthony, who finished the night with 21 points. “Getting him going and him making shots, it made it hard to double-team him and still try to guard Kobe out there.
“I don’t really think they did anything different tonight. But I missed some easy shots.” Anthony was just 4-of-13 from the field.
