When the Los Angeles Lakers began what was expected to be a knock-down, drag-out Western Conference Finals matchup with the San Antonio Spurs in 2001, Kobe Bryant went off for 45 points and 10 rebounds in a Game 1 win for L.A.
Some likely brushed it off, thinking the Spurs would bounce back in Game 2 and get a victory to even the series.
Early in the contest, it looked like they would.
Tim Duncan reminded everyone how special he was by putting up 40 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks, while his team’s defense held the Lakers down early.
San Antonio led 46-38 at halftime, and L.A. was having by far its worst game of the playoffs.
In the third quarter, the frustration boiled over as Lakers head coach Phil Jackson got ejected after getting his second technical foul.
Given the Zen Master’s history of Jedi mind tricks, one had to wonder if he intentionally got himself tossed, a tactic NBA head coaches occasionally employ in big games.
If that was his plan, it worked.
Down by seven when Jackson was kicked out, the Lakers scored seven unanswered points, then took their first lead on a 3-pointer from Derek Fisher with just over two minutes left in the third period.
The rest of the game was a tug of war, and with Shaquille O’Neal struggling through an 8-of-21 clunker, Bryant would come to the rescue.
With 1:53 left in the fourth quarter and L.A. clinging to an 80-78 lead, he found O’Neal underneath for a layup. Then after the Spurs missed, Bryant hit a wide-open 3-pointer that sealed an 88-81 win.
He finished the contest with 28 points, seven rebounds, six assists, two steals and one blocked shot.
With a 2-0 lead heading back to Los Angeles, the Spurs went from needing a win to needing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
But the worst was yet to come for Duncan and his boys.
