PHOENIX - Hindi nakaapekto sa nagdedepensang Los Angeles Lakers ang malamyang tira ni Kobe Bryant. Ngunit ang katahimikan ng All-Star guard sa fourth quarter ang sinamantala ng Phoenix Suns upang maitabla sa 2-2 ang kanilang best-of-seven NBA Western Conference finals series.
Tinalo ng Suns ang Lakers, 115-106, sa Game Four kung saan nalimita si Bryant sa 7 puntos sa huling 12 minuto ng final canto.
“He was carrying us offensively, and then in the second half they started sending two guys on him even when they were in the zone,” wika ni Lakers’ center Pau Gasol kay Bryant, nagtapos na may 38 points, 10 assists at 7 rebounds.
Nakaiskor si Braynt sa huling 2:37 ng laro para sa Los Angeles ngunit bitbit na ng Phoenix ang 103-95 abante patungo sa kanilang tagumpay.
“We lost the game because our defense sucked,” wika ng inis na si Bryant.
Gamit ang kanilang mga reserve players, itinala ng Suns ang isang 10-point lead sa gitna ng third quarter matapos magtabla sa 23-23 sa first period.
“I was more aggressive in the second quarter,” dagdag pa ni Bryant. “I felt the game slipping away. I kind of got going, made some shots, kept going. But that has nothing to do with us getting to the next round. Offensively we scored enough points. We need to do a better job defensively, period.”
Apat na three-pointers ang isinalpak ni Channing Frye para magbigay sa Phoenix ng 14 puntos kagaya ng produksyon ni Leandro Barbosa, habang nag-ambag ng 11 si Jared Dudley.
“The bench played fantastic,” ani Suns’ pointguard Steve Nash, nagtala ng 15 puntos at 8 assists sa ilalim ng 21 marka ni Amare Stoudemire. “They were by far easily the difference tonight.”