Through five contests, the 2010 Western Conference finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns were relatively close.
Although only one of the contests, Game 5, was very competitive, L.A. held a 3-2 series lead thanks to a game-winner at the buzzer of Game 5 by Ron Artest.
The Lakers felt confident about wrapping things up in Game 6 in Arizona, but even after they built a 17-point lead in the third quarter, the Suns were still stubborn.
They shrank L.A.’s lead to three, 99-96, with 2:19 left in the fourth quarter, but then, Kobe Bryant happened.
He scored nine points in the final two minutes, giving him 37 for the game, to lead the Lakers to a 111-103 win and their third straight trip to the NBA Finals.
Afterward, Suns star Steve Nash gave Bryant some massive praise for his clutch heroics.
Via ESPN:
“Those aren’t shooters shots, they’re scorers shots,” Nash said. “Those are best-player-in-the-game type shots.”
After dispatching Nash’s crew, the Black Mamba and his team got revenge against the Boston Celtics to win their fifth NBA championship of the new millennium.
