Lakers, Kobe find redemption

ORLANDO, Florida – Kobe Bryant’s seven-year chase of a coveted NBA championship ended Sunday when the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Orlando Magic, 99-86, to take an unassailable lead after Game 5 of the best of seven finals series.

Bryant now has his fourth NBA title, and Jackson his record 10th. One year after conceding the finals to Boston, Bryant and the Lakers have redemption, and all the rewards that go with it.

The star-shooting guard scored 30 points and Pau Gasol added 14 and 15 rebounds as the Lakers earned their 15th title.

With his fourth championship, Bryant finally stepped out of former teammate Shaquille O’Neal’s enormous shadow and secured a strong case to be considered the league’s best player since Michael Jordan.

Bryant, who averaged 32.4 points and was named finals MVP, said the can-he-win-without-Shaq talk annoyed him.

“It was like Chinese water torture,” he said. “I would cringe every time. I was just like, it’s a challenge I’m just going to have to accept because there’s no way I’m going to argue it. You can say it until you’re blue in the face and rationalize it until you’re blue in the face, but it’s not going anywhere until you do something about it.

“I think we as a team answered the call because they understood the challenge that I had, and we all embraced it.”

O’Neal, now with the Phoenix Suns, was glad to see Bryant win another title.

“Congratulations kobe, u deserve it,” O’Neal said on his Twitter page. “You played great. Enjoy it my man enjoy it.”

Jackson, who won six league titles in the 1990s with Jordan in Chicago, now has won four with Los Angeles and broke a tie with legendary Boston coach Red Auerbach as the most successful coach in finals history.

“I’ll smoke the cigar tonight in memory of Red,” Jackson said in reference to the late Auerbach’s traditional victory celebration. “He was a great guy.”

Bryant and Jackson, whose relationship strained and briefly snapped under the weight of success, are again at the top of their games.

Jackson, who once called Bryant “a selfish player” now sees the 30-year-old in a far different light.

“He’s learned how to become a leader in a way in which people want to follow him,” Jackson said. “That’s really important for him to have learned that because he knew that he had to give to get back in return, and so he’s become a giver rather than just a guy that a demanding leader. That’s been great for him and great to watch.”

After the final horn, Bryant leaped into the air and was quickly engulfed by his teammates, who bounced around the floor of Amway Arena. Bryant then gave long a hug and shared a few words with Jackson before sweeping up his daughters, both wearing gold Lakers dresses, into his arms.

“It finally felt like a big old monkey was off my back,” he said. “It felt so good to be able to have this moment. For this moment to be here and to reflect back on the season and everything that you’ve been through, it’s top of the list, man.”

Bryant had come up short twice in the finals before, in 2004 with O’Neal against Detroit, then last season against the Celtics in the renewal of the league’s best rivalry. The Lakers were beaten in six games, losing the finale in Boston by 39 points, a humiliating loss that Bryant and his teammates had trouble shaking.

Orlando will be haunted by moments in a series that swung on a few plays and had two overtime games.

After losing Game 1 by 25 points, the Magic had their chance in Game 2 but rookie Courtney Lee missed an alley-oop layup in the final second of regulation. In Game 4, Dwight Howard clanged two free throws with 11.1 seconds, and the Magic allowed Derek Fisher to nail a game-tying three-pointer to force OT.

Howard was hardly a factor in Game 5. He scored 11 points, took just nine shots and never got a chance to get going. Rashard Lewis scored 18 points, but made only three of 12 three-pointer opportunities for Orlando, which after living on the three, finally died by it.

The Magic made just eight of 27 shots from long range.

“I thought our guys fought hard,” coach Stan Van Gundy said. “But they just had an answer for everything.”

Orlando was trying to become the first team to overcome a 3-1 deficit in the finals.

“It hurts,” Howard said. “It hurts a lot. But you can learn a lot from losing. Sometimes you’ve got to lose to win.” (AP)