Lakers Intel -- 5/1

Taking It By The Horns
The Lakers' playoff past, deep and striking, already is crammed full with a 15-point comeback in a desperate fourth quarter, a staggering fadeaway fling with 0.4 of a second left and, back a bit further, a rookie point guard putting up 42 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists while playing center. And now this, unimaginably yet indelibly -- an improbable steal by Smush Parker, an equally implausible play by Luke Walton and, on top of it all, two last-second shots by Kobe Bryant. Instead of merely beating the Phoenix Suns, the Lakers pushed it a bit further Sunday, stunning them in regulation and again in overtime for a 99-98 victory -- Los Angeles Times



A Split Second Caps Bryant's Finest Hour
This is the first playoff series where he's not trying to be Michael Jordan, and what happens? Kobe Bryant is Michael Jordan. These were the first pressure moments where he wasn't trying to be bigger than the Lakers, and guess what. Kobe Bryant was a giant. In Sunday's breathless late afternoon, after making two shots in two final ticks when it was too close to breathe and too loud to think, Bryant praised his young team for maturing. But it's not them. It's him. He's the one who has grown up. -- Los Angeles Times



Bryant Seizes Every Moment
I was about to call this Kobe Bryant's finest moment. Which is crazy, and not principally because I'd be rating it higher than the three NBA championships he's won with the Lakers, higher than his 81-point night, higher than all his other heroics. It's crazy because I'd have to figure out which of Sunday afternoon's moments we're talking about. -- Los Angeles Daily News



By George, This Is Really Unbelievable
The rest of us are excited for other reasons, of course, especially after Sunday's draining, lucky victory by the Lakers, which included the first miracle I have witnessed in my life: Back-to-back three-pointers in a critical situation by Devean George, and one more later with the game on the line. "Why are you here talking to me?" George wanted to know after the game, and all I could think of was something Jack Buck had said while watching Kirk Gibson's home run: "I don't believe what I just saw." -- Los Angeles Times



It's Absolute Bliss For L.A.
It was a day all rational thought exited the building, when you checked to confirm all five senses were truly working. It should not have happened. That's the only simple part. A reasonable person would not have considered it even a possibility, would have been running from men in white coats for the mere suggestion. Only sometimes athletics ignore probabilities, fly in the face of logic and time and odds, and conspire to create a truly special sporting moment. The Lakers won a playoff game Sunday, which is like saying the Grand Canyon is a swell gorge. The Lakers won a playoff game over the Suns that looked hopelessly lost. Twice. -- Los Angeles Daily News



Hail To The Master
He has spoken and they have listened intently. He has given instructions and they have followed them implicitly. He has led and they have followed with certainty. The Lakers appear to have put all their trust in Coach Phil Jackson, believing in whatever he has said, never straying far from his words. When all the doubters had the Lakers losing to the Phoenix Suns in the first-round, best-of-seven Western Conference playoff series, Jackson gave his players a blueprint for success and told them to stick to it. -- Riverside Press-Enterprise



Kobe: 'Lamar Put Us On His Back'
When the Lakers struggled in the fourth quarter, Odom went to work to help them reach overtime. He scored eight points, making both of his field-goal attempts and all four free throws. He had three assists. "Lamar put us on his back," Kobe Bryant said. "It was him who carried us and got us to that point. He was making all the plays. He was in the post getting three-point plays, passing out of the double teams." -- Riverside Press-Enterprise