It took one bounce to turn the momentum of the game. It took one thunderous dunk to break the spirit of the opponents. It took one sprained ankle to keep the series from slipping away.
It was the night the New Orleans Hornets appear to stage another grand upset against the Los Angeles Lakers, on the verge of topping the series three-to-two in their favor, and the chance of closing the purple and gold in New Orleans Arena on Thursday.
To coach Phil Jackson everything was unfolding not according to plan. He took Kobe Bryant out early in the first quarter, as he said later on in the press conference he thought the Black Mamba was a liability in the hard court.
The Hornets were shooting 81% in the first quarter and leading nine points at the end of the first 12 minutes.
The Staples Center was silent, and the crowd was uneasy with the progress of the game.
The second quarter came, and the Hornet’s lead starts to get bigger, and Chris Paul was in command of the game again.
Suddenly, out from nowhere, Bryant made a cut to the middle lane and took the pass from Pau Gasol. He was free from Hornet’s defensive specialist Trevor Ariza, and everyone was expecting Bryant to pull a jump shot.
A jumper was not on Bryant’s mind, as it wouldn’t change the complexion of the game. He wanted a statement shot. And so he did.
Bryant saw the opening in the lane, sprung off on his injured foot, and took the ball to the rim with Hornet’s center Emeka Okafor (5 points,5 rebounds) rising along with him.
Before Okafor found out what happened, the Lakers’ players on the sideline jumped off their seats, the crowd stood up in rapturous jubilation, while the rest of the nation watched in their living room in awe.
Bryant posterized Okafor!
It was a spectacular move coming neither from No. 24 nor from the Black Mamba.
It was a move coming from No. 8 of years ago, a throw back to Bryant’s afro years in his early twenty’s.
Bryant is already in his 15 years in NBA, and still defies the law of gravity.
Collin Cowherd of ESPN’s The Herd Show said it best: It’s the Dunk of the Year.
The sports radio host even added that even Michael Jordan in his 15th year did not show such kind of power and explosiveness.
When everyone thought that was it, he showed them it was not so.
In third quarter, Bryant made a blow-by on Trevor Ariza (22 points, 3 assists) and Carl Landry (8 points, 2 assists), and then leapt in the air for another monstrous dunk.
The left-handed dunk was so sweet, sending the Lakers fans in delirium, conveying another message to doubters and critics, and reminding them that it is still his league.
When the basketball analysts were quick to point out that he’s on his waning years and hastily handed the baton to Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, and Derick Rose – the two ferocious dunks told them to think it over.
Not so fast, Bryant is still in the game.
The game-changing dunks electrified his teammates and in the same manner putting them in the spot. If he could play with intensity in a banged-up body and swelling ankle, how much more could they?
Memorandum received. At the end of the game, six Lakers players registered double-digit points in the score box, good enough to end the game at 106 to 90.
It was vintage Kobe Bryant all over again making eight of his 13 shots for 62% field goals.
I wish Bryant would break his hand before the game with Hornets tonight, and I couldn’t wait to see what he's going to do next.
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