Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony put on an absolute show in Game 1 of what looks to be an outstanding Western Conference finals. 'Melo finished with 39 points on 14-20 shooting while Bryant finished with 40 points by going 13-28 from the field. The Nuggets led for much of the game, but the Lakers pulled ahead late to win 105-103.The Nuggets came out with an excellent strategy defensively, making sure that the Lakers could not get the ball inside to Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol, who finished with six and 13 respectively, and forcing Bryant to step up and beat them on his own. And step up he did. Kobe lived up to his "best closer in the game" label, hitting clutch shots and free throws in the fourth quarter.
As impressive as Kobe was, I came away just as impressed with the effort of Carmelo Anthony. It's safe to say I've never seen Anthony play with this kind of effort in an NBA game. On the offensive side of the ball he was an absolute bruiser, punishing the Lakers on the post and on the offensive glass. He destroyed every defender the Lakers threw at him, forcing the Lakers to throw Kobe on him in the fourth. After the game, Kobe referred to his attempts to guard 'Melo as "wrestling with a bear."
What was most impressive about 'Melo's performance was his effort on the defensive side of the ball. He smothered Bryant for much of the second half, denying him the ball and playing him as well as anyone possibly could.
Of course, Kobe had a spectacular fourth, but it really was no fault of 'Melo's. It was more a story of Kobe just being a supernova. They could have thrown Dennis Rodman in his prime on Kobe in the fourth and he still would have gotten his. Put it this way, without 'Melo's effort, Kobe might have had more than 50 tonight.
The league, Vitamin Water and Nike have been playing up the possibility of a LeBron vs. Kobe NBA Finals, but I'm telling you, this Carmelo Anthony vs. Kobe Bryant matchup might be much more entertaining. Trust me, you don't want to miss a minute of this series.
Latest NBA Playoff Photos
Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony dunks in the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Lakers during Game 1 of their NBA Western Conference final basketball playoff game in Los Angeles, May 19, 2009. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson (UNITED STATES SPORT BASKETBALL)
Reuters
Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony smiles in the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Lakers during Game 1 of their NBA Western Conference final basketball playoff game in Los Angeles, May 19, 2009. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson (UNITED STATES SPORT BASKETBALL)
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Denver Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin rests on the floor during the second half against the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1 of the NBA basketball Western Conference finals, Tuesday, May 19, 2009, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
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Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant (C) tries to drive through Denver Nuggets center Chris Andersen (L) and guard Anthony Carter in Game 1 of their NBA Western Conference final basketball playoff game in Los Angeles, May 19, 2009. REUTERS/Danny Moloshok (UNITED STATES SPORT BASKETBALL)
Reuters
Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant (C) tries to drive through Denver Nuggets center Chris Andersen (L) and guard Anthony Carter in Game 1 of their NBA Western Conference final basketball playoff game in Los Angeles, May 19, 2009. Nuggets Nene of Brazil is at right. REUTERS/Danny Moloshok (UNITED STATES SPORT BASKETBALL)
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Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant slams the ball to the floor and gets a technical foul during the second half against the Denver Nuggets during Game 1 of the NBA basketball Western Conference finals, Tuesday, May 19, 2009, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark Avery)
AP
LOS ANGELES, CA - MAY 19: Head coach Phil Jackson of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on against the Denver Nuggets in Game One of the Western Conference Finals during the 2009 NBA Playoffs at Staples Center on May 19, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Phil Jackson
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LOS ANGELES, CA - MAY 19: Musician Justin Timberlake attends Game One of the Western Conference Finals during the 2009 NBA Playoffs between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Denver Nuggets at Staples Center on May 19, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Justin Timberlake
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LOS ANGELES, CA - MAY 19: Kobe Bryant #24 and Pau Gasol #16 of the Los Angeles Lakers box out Chris Andersen #11 of the Denver Nuggets in the fourth quarter of Game One of the Western Conference Finals during the 2009 NBA Playoffs at Staples Center on May 19, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Kobe Bryant;Pau Gasol;Chris Andersen
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LOS ANGELES, CA - MAY 19: (M) Pau Gasol #16 of the Los Angeles Lakers yells from the bench in the fourth quarter against the Denver Nuggets in Game One of the Western Conference Finals during the 2009 NBA Playoffs at Staples Center on May 19, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Pau Gasol
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
5-20-2009 @ 1:29AM
mike said...
I watched the game in it's entirety and was very disappointed in the lopsided calls that went in Denver's favor. Really 35 free throws for the Nuggets and 24 FT's for the home team Lakers. The Nuggets were reaching all night and brutally hacking and no calls for the Lakers. Billups clearly steps out of bounds, hits a three pointer and the ref just ignored it? I thought Denver was the home team all night the way they were getting away with fouls? Denver played their best game and still lost. Nene and Martin will not have 14 and 15 points respectively again. L.A. dominated on the boards and Kobe is still the best closer in the game. The post game interviews showed G. Karl looking dismayed and bewildered, and defeated. Lakers in 5 games.
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5-20-2009 @ 9:36AM
mybasketballgirl said...
I agree 100%. Remember, Denver has been allowed to hack & pound in both previous series! LA needs to come out & physically send a message next game. You must play the style the refs are allowing, if not Denver will walk all over you. LA better start, or they will NOT survive the series. Yes it did look like the Lakers were on the road. I hope the Lakers win the series, but after what I saw last night it looks like Denver will win.
5-20-2009 @ 10:43AM
SimbaDogg said...
i 100% agree, the game was pathetic. all the calls that denver was getting was incredible. NBA is hands down the worst officiating sport in the history of north american professional sports. I thought the No Fun League was bad, but at least their consistent w/ their calls day in and day out.
5-20-2009 @ 1:39AM
D_Average said...
Anthony Carter is AVERAGE and BONE HEADED. Why did he have the ball again down the stretch??? Did somebody put a gun to Karl's head?
Other than that, the Nuggets looked tight all night, not ready for prime time just yet.
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5-20-2009 @ 1:50AM
mike said...
I agree totally, was was Carter in the game? He score d no points, had no assists, and turned the ball over in the crucialties of the contest.
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5-20-2009 @ 2:07AM
mcjesus666 said...
how can the refs justify calling the first two series the lakers were in were loose (ie. letting the players go at it) and then all the sudden calling it so tight(ie. phantom calls left and right)? Where's the consistency? Watch to see if they do this all series....doubt it.... refs need to be consistent..it's unfair to the fans and the players alike.
regardless, if the refs stay out of the way this is gonna be an amazing series. Probably better than the finals!!!
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5-20-2009 @ 2:23AM
fspitch said...
Remember mcjesus that this is the NBA. That's why the NBA is "officiated," if you can call it that, the way it is. It's officiated like pro wrestling. It's fixed.
You, me and everybody else knows the Finals will be Kobe-LeBron (not Lakers-Cavs), because that's what the short white men in coats and ties want, Mike's opinion on tonight's game aside. You can't always look at the number of fouls and free throws total. You need to look at the number of fouls and free throws during certain runs, as in how many calls went to Denver vs. L.A. when Denver's lead shrunk from seven to one in the fourth quarter.
But we'll never have an above-board NBA again for the same reason we'll never have a playoff in college football: Because American saps will continue to accept it as it is, and thus, support it. The day it is ignored is the day it gets changed. As it is, these games don't generate any TV ratings. Kobe-LeBron will because Americans are stupid.
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5-20-2009 @ 2:25AM
fspitch said...
And for the record, little Kobe-poo gets "his" title (no Shaq) this season, then the NBA hands the baton to James to rule the league for the next 10 years.
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5-20-2009 @ 5:44AM
obamaizadope said...
that was the worst officiated game I have ever seen. that being said, Kobe was doin' work..
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5-20-2009 @ 10:09AM
hilryshaves said...
If Chauncey was on early, it could have been a Nuggets blowout..
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5-20-2009 @ 10:46AM
Dr. Minkoff said...
'Melo is just an incredible force and everyone here is saying that America and the white man (I am white) wants Lebron, just look at your own comments. Your all talking about Hebron. Listen, nobody was as physical and dirty as the Pistons. this is the NBA and you have to toughen up your game. Carmel has 39 points, no one can guard him, and everyone is still talking about Hebron. Denver should win the series but won't.
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5-20-2009 @ 10:49AM
Dr. Minkoff said...
I am sorry. My computer is on the glitch again. It should read Lebron, not Hebron, that's a city in Israel ; ) as well as Carmello.
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5-20-2009 @ 11:33AM
Ed Fielding said...
Must agree with the officiating complaints. It appears that, for whatever reason, the Lakers clearly were getting the short end of the shaft. That should dispel some of you conspiricy theorists that The NBA will fix games to get a Kobe-LeBron matchup.
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5-20-2009 @ 12:45PM
BILL said...
The Lakers get no love from the refs at all!Check out the blindside Chris Anderson laid on Shannon Brown!And no call!And NeNe huggiong Pau Gasol under the basket. And no call. AS Chick used to say "You could call that with Braille". meaning a blind man wouldn't have missed those calls!
5-20-2009 @ 12:42PM
G said...
For all you Lakers fans....I don't know what you're complaining about. Whenever the Lakers play at home they are clearly favored by the refs in the regular season and so far into the post season. So don't complain about one game where it doesn't even matter....they won! I think the Rockets series proved to the NBA that the Lakers aren't invincible as everyone previously thought. As a result, the NBA is no longer giving them the benefit of the doubt as far as calls go. And in my opinion, good. For too long has the NBA cradled its precious baby Lakers. Its time for the Lakers to show what they have, to battle back from adversity and not just blame it on "an off night" like Jackson does every time they loose. Face it...the Lakers can be beat, and Denver showed this in game 1. The calls might go back the Laker's way in game 2, but really Denver showed that they can hang with them even when they play awful (besides Melo). It'll be an interesting series.
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5-21-2009 @ 10:54AM
mike said...
Look G, The Lakers are a finesse team and Denver knows it? The nuggets clearly were fouling all night and it was not being called. I just want the game called fairly? You know if the Nuggets are going to win they have to resort to dirty fouls and cheap tactics. J.R. Smith clearly pulled Kobe down to the floor on that drive in the 3rd quarter and the Refs ignored it and Kobe got a tech. Now if you don't like the Lkaers thats fine root fot eh Nuggets but the games need to be called fairly. This is not the WWE this his hoops.
5-20-2009 @ 2:43PM
williewunderlich said...
There were EIGHT fouls called against the Denver Nuggets in the final 2:07 of this game, with only ONE foul called against the Lakers-- despite Chris Andersen being tackled on an attempted slam dunk at the end of the game. Count 'em, fellas. 8 to 1 down the stretch in favor of L.A. In fact, the only foul called against L.A. in the final two minutes of this game was Kobe's intentional foul at the end to prevent J.R. Smith from shooting a game winning three pointer. Total personal fouls for the entire game were even at 26 per team, but the refs won this for L.A. in the last two minutes. They also gave L.A. the ball back with the score tied in the last minute after Pau Gasol batted the ball out of bounds on an offensive rebound attempt by Kenyon Martin. These Lakers fans here who think that the refs helped Denver are delusional. Even Phil Jackson admitted that the Nuggets outplayed the Lakers in Game 1. Give a major Staples Arena assist to the So Cal refs...
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5-20-2009 @ 3:02PM
Patches said...
Lakers & Nuggets? Didn't see it. Could care less. Might watch the NBA championship series, unless there is decent golf match going on some where. Just not an NBA fan with this current crop of players, and officiating. Patch
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5-20-2009 @ 4:01PM
Danny said...
The NBA (no basketball allowed) is far overrated. Give me a college game anyday where players play for the love of the game, not for the love of the paycheck.
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5-20-2009 @ 6:51PM
okwenwa said...
The last game showed no love for the Lakers. The Refs did not do a very good
job. This has nothing to do with being a Laker's fan. Hate the Lakers as much as want, fair is fair. For those who keep talking about the money paid to players, you are jealous and ignorant in many ways. Let it go and enjoy basketball with an open mind.
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