The Denver Nuggets plastered Andrew Bynum's words all over their locker room and across their minds, drawing fiery inspiration from the Lakers center's declaration that close-out playoff games are sometimes easy when an opponent quits. The young Nuggets rode that emotion to a big lead and a landmark victory -- only after Kobe Bryant reminded them that almost nothing comes easily for anybody in the NBA playoffs. Andre Miller scored 24 points, including two free throws with 12.8 seconds left, and Denver survived Bryant's late scoring barrage in a 43-point performance, avoiding playoff elimination with a 102-99 victory over Los Angeles in Game 5 on Tuesday night.
