Los Angeles Lakers at Denver Nuggets, Game 6 (Lakers lead 3-2)
Welcome to the playoffs, Lamar Odom.
The struggling Lakers swingman was probably the biggest reason that Los Angeles won Game 5 in this series and has a chance to clinch the Western Conference Finals tonight in Denver.
However, the Nuggets are 5.5-point WagerWeb.com favorites to extend this series to seven games.
As for Odom, he has been dealing with a bad back since a bad fall midway through the Rockets series. And he has not played well very often since then. But in Game 5, he had 19 points and 14 rebounds in the Lakers’ 103-94 victory.
Welcome to the playoffs, Lamar Odom.
The struggling Lakers swingman was probably the biggest reason that Los Angeles won Game 5 in this series and has a chance to clinch the Western Conference Finals tonight in Denver.
However, the Nuggets are 5.5-point WagerWeb.com favorites to extend this series to seven games.
As for Odom, he has been dealing with a bad back since a bad fall midway through the Rockets series. And he has not played well very often since then. But in Game 5, he had 19 points and 14 rebounds in the Lakers’ 103-94 victory.
“Just gutting it out,” he said. “I just tried to pick up my effort, energy, and I guess sometimes when you do that, sometimes it spreads.”
Odom had been averaging 7.5 points in this series and Los Angeles was being dominated inside by the Nuggets. When entered the game in the third quarter the Lakers were down seven. They outscored Denver by 16 the rest of the way.
“Lamar played good,” Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups said Thursday. “You’ve got to tip your hat to him.
But every game is different. Now he’ll be a little more in the scouting report. I feel fine about the way we’ve controlled what he’s doing.”
Denver is also 7-1 at home in the playoffs, although that one loss came in Game 3 to the Lakers. The Nuggets started chirping about biased officiating following Game 5 in which Denver was called for 30 personal fouls compared with 22 for the Lakers. But it seems to be a home-court thing, as in Game 4 in Denver the Nuggets were whistled for just 24 fouls to the Lakers’ 31.
The Nuggets have 11 technical fouls in the series, seven of which have come in the fourth quarter. Coach George Karl said some of his younger players aren’t handling officiating in the series very well.
“We have some guys that are emotional,” Karl said. “And maybe they are a little too emotional. But for me, I’m not going to tell them to stop that, because I think it stops them from being a competitor.”
Other than Odom, the difference in Game 5 was Laker reserve Shannon Brown, who was a non-factor early in the series. He scored six points in 14 minutes, and his layup and dunk late in the third quarter ignited a 21-3 run.
In addition, the Lakers clamped down on Denver’s J.R. Smith in Game 5, holding him to 3-of-13 from the field after a 24-point effort in Game 4.
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Just gutting it out,” he said. “I just tried to pick up my effort, energy, and I guess sometimes when you do that, sometimes it spreads.”
Odom had been averaging 7.5 points in this series and Los Angeles was being dominated inside by the Nuggets. When entered the game in the third quarter the Lakers were down seven. They outscored Denver by 16 the rest of the way.
“Lamar played good,” Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups said Thursday. “You’ve got to tip your hat to him.
But every game is different. Now he’ll be a little more in the scouting report. I feel fine about the way we’ve controlled what he’s doing.”
Denver is also 7-1 at home in the playoffs, although that one loss came in Game 3 to the Lakers. The Nuggets started chirping about biased officiating following Game 5 in which Denver was called for 30 personal fouls compared with 22 for the Lakers. But it seems to be a home-court thing, as in Game 4 in Denver the Nuggets were whistled for just 24 fouls to the Lakers’ 31.
The Nuggets have 11 technical fouls in the series, seven of which have come in the fourth quarter. Coach George Karl said some of his younger players aren’t handling officiating in the series very well.
“We have some guys that are emotional,” Karl said. “And maybe they are a little too emotional. But for me, I’m not going to tell them to stop that, because I think it stops them from being a competitor.”
Other than Odom, the difference in Game 5 was Laker reserve Shannon Brown, who was a non-factor early in the series. He scored six points in 14 minutes, and his layup and dunk late in the third quarter ignited a 21-3 run.
In addition, the Lakers clamped down on Denver’s J.R. Smith in Game 5, holding him to 3-of-13 from the field after a 24-point effort in Game 4.
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