Los Angeles Lakers, Nba Playoffs | featured news

Dirk Nowitzki scored 28 points and hit two go-ahead free throws with 19.5 seconds left before Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant made a crucial turnover, and the Dallas Mavericks rallied for a 96-94 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series.

Kobe Bryant scored 22 of his 24 points in the first three quarters, then let his Lakers teammates take over in a dominant 98-80 victory over the New Orleans Hornets on Thursday night that wrapped up the series for Los Angeles in six games.

Kobe Bryant shrugged off his ankle injury, becoming a dominant force as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the New Orleans Hornets on Tuesday to take a 3-2 lead in their best-of-seven first-round playoff series.

PBT: Kobe Bryant refused an MRI or X-ray on his ankle and plans to play in Game 5. That's admirable, but not if he does more damage.

Kobe Bryant scored 30 points, Pau Gasol snapped out of his playoff funk with 17 points and 10 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers took control of their first-round playoff series with a 100-86 victory over the New Orleans Hornets on Friday night.

Andrew Bynum had 17 points and 11 rebounds, Lamar Odom scored 16 points, and the Los Angeles Lakers survived poor games from their two biggest stars to even their first-round playoff series with an 87-78 victory over the New Orleans Hornets in Game 2 on Wednesday night.

Chris Paul ran circles around the Los Angeles Lakers in a scintillating performance to lead his New Orleans Hornets to a 109-100 upset victory over the defending champions in their NBA playoff series opener Sunday.

Chris Bosh scored 24 points, Dwyane Wade added 20 and the Miami Heat snapped a five-game losing streak by beating the two-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers 94-88 on Thursday night, clinching a playoff spot.

Celtics handle Kobe onslaught and lead Lakers 3-2
A Los Angeles native who has played his entire career with the rival Celtics, Pierce scored 27 points to help Boston withstand 38 points from Kobe Bryant to beat the Lakers 92-86 on Sunday night and move within one victory of an unprecedented 18th NBA title.

On another difficult night for the Boston starters, the bench came through, and the Celtics bullied their way to a 96-89 victory to tie the N.B.A. finals at 2-2.