The Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets will return to the Staples Center for Game 7. Denver kept the series alive for a second straight game, beating the Lakers 113-96 at home in Game 6. This is the first series to go seven games in the 2012 NBA Playoffs. Tip-off is scheduled for 10:30 EST on Saturday and will be broadcasted nationally on TNT.
The home team has historically been very tough to beat in a Game 7, and oddsmakers apparently think that trend will continue. Los Angeles is favored by 6-points with the total set at 196.5. For the latest on this series click here.
Denver
The Nuggets looked like their year was going to come to an end after falling behind 3-1 and the series headed back to LA for Game 5. Two straight wins have completely changed the outlook of this series, as Denver rolls into Los Angeles for Game 7 with all the momentum. I questioned if the Nuggets would suffer a let down after that great win in Game 5, but that wasn’t the case . They came out and arguably played their best game of the series on Thursday.
Ty Lawson was fantastic in Game 5. He had a game-high 32 points behind an incredible shooting performance. Lawson went 13 of 18 from the field and was 5 of 6 from long distance. On top of that, he helped out in other areas with six assits and five rebounds.
Lawson was not the only one who played well in Game 6. Kenneth Faried recorded a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, Danilo Gallinari finished with 12 points and seven assists, and Corey Brewer and Andre Miller combined for 30 points off the bench.
Lots of credit must be given to head coach George Karl. The Nuggets don’t have the size or the stars like you see on the Lakers, but they know their role and most importantly they believe they can win this series.
Los Angeles
Outside of Kobe Bryant, who is among the best competitors in the NBA, the Lakers have not shown up mentally or physically in the last two games. I don’t know if the tempo at which Denver is playing has completely wore down this team, but this team has looked extremely flat late in the series.
Bryant continued to do his part, leading the way with a team-high 31 points on 13 of 23 shooting. As for Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, neither player played well enough for the Lakers to win. Bynum had a respectable 11 points and 16 rebounds, but shot 4 of 11 from the field. Gasol had arguably his worst performance of the series, scoring just three points on 1 of 10 shooting. Not only were Gasol and Bynum not contributing on offense, they weren’t any better on the defensive side of the ball.
You know Bryant is going to come out and give this team everything he has in Game 7, but it’s pretty evident he cannot do it alone. He could put up 50 points and the Lakers are going to struggle if Bynum and Gasol continue to play like they have. Los Angeles should get a lift defensively from the return of Metta World Peace, who has been forced to sit out the 1st six games while serving a suspension received late in the regular season. Whether it will be enough to get them to Western Conference Semifinals, is difficult to say after how bad this team has looked in games 5 and 6.
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