ARTEST STUNS SUNS IN GAME 5
Ron Artest, who had only 2 points as the game approached its end, caught a Kobe Bryant last-second airball and banked it in to win the game and give the Lakers a critical 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference Finals. With 6 seconds left and the Lakers winning by 3, Jason Richardson threw up a desperation 3-point shot that banked in after two straight 3-point misses by Phoenix on the same possession. The Suns celebrated the fact that they had tied the game, one in which they had trailed at one point by 18. There were 3.5 seconds left, and everyone felt that the Lakers would go to Kobe Bryant for the win. They did. And the defense on Kobe was tight. So tight that Kobe’s desperation shot was an airball. But Ron Artest, who had rushed a shot 50 seconds earlier instead of holding the ball to wear down the clock, and was on track to be the game’s goat, ran in and grabbed the airball and put it back onto the backboard for a game-winning basket as the buzzer sounded.
The Lakers came away with a close 103-101 victory after having being up by 18 and 15 points at different points in the game. While the Lakers now lead 3 games to 2 and are one victory away from the NBA Finals, they have to return to Phoenix where they’ve lost both games and play an extremely resilient Suns team, who will be desperate to stay alive. It should be a difficult challenge for the Lakers, whose defense has been questionable in this series. This Game Six will be played on Saturday night in Phoenix.
M. Dean
Muhammad Ali Life