After a journey through seven games of mood swings, turns in the story line and questions about just who these Lakers are, Kobe Bryant said he finally learned something about his team.
“That we’re bipolar,” he said with an ear-to-ear grin.
Bryant could joke and relax, and most of Los Angeles could exhale, after the Lakers’ 89-70 rout of the Houston Rockets on Sunday in Game Seven of their Western Conference semi-final series that was much tougher than anticipated.
The victory capped a series with an abundance of compelling plot twists, but few suspenseful games, that reached its climax in predictable fashion — a blowout.
The Lakers were clearly relieved to be done with the series and the persistent Rockets, who played without the towering center Yao Ming, who broke his foot in Game Three. And even though the Lakers were rarely challenged on Sunday, they believe they will be better off after such a stern test when they begin the conference finals against Denver on Tuesday in Los Angeles.
The Lakers relied on an unexpected strength — their defense.
On an afternoon that carried such high stakes and when Bryant struggled offensively, it was an opportune time for the Lakers to exercise some rare grit on the defensive end.
The young center Andrew Bynum, who was scoreless in Game Six and invisible for most of the series, ensured that the short-handed Rockets felt undermanned.
Bynum tied a career playoff high with 14 points, making six of seven field goals, but he was more valuable at the other end. Bynum blocked two shots and altered many others. He also drew a technical foul for knocking down Aaron Brooks, Houston’s quick point guard.
“At the end of the day, he’s 7 feet tall, 300 pounds,” Houston forward Shane Battier said. “When you don’t have the energy like we didn’t have today, it’s tough to beat that size and that length.”
Ron Artest missed all three shots he took in the first quarter, two of them air balls. Scola had his first shot blocked by Gasol and turned the ball over on the next possession. And Battier’s first shot — a three-pointer — barely grazed the rim.
The first shot by Brooks was also an air ball. The Rockets missed their first 12 shots before a layup by Chuck Hayes.
By late Sunday afternoon, nearly every Laker was asked why they did not play like they had more often. After a head-scratching two weeks, Lamar Odom’s explanation seemed plausible.
“To make it interesting,” Odom said. “It’s Hollywood, you know.”
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