Kobe Bryant destroys Suns in epic 2010 series

Kobe’s Lakers lost 4-3 in the first round of the 2006 playoffs and 4-1 in the first round of the 2007 playoffs to the Suns. The Suns had all the advantages until the Lakers acquired Pau Gasol in a trade.

2010 Lakers vs. Suns

This changed everything, it led to the Lakers reaching the NBA Finals in 2008 and again in 2009, winning the championship in ’09. By 2010, Kobe and his squad were looking to repeat and the Suns would be in their way, meeting LA in the Western Conference Finals.

In the previous two matchups, the Suns held the home-court advantage. This time, the series started in LA. Game 1 belonged to the Lakers and Kobe Bryant.

The Lakers opened Game 1 on a different note from the previous meetings. It wasn’t all Kobe, as Derek Fisher, Pau Gasol, Metta World Peace, and Andrew Bynum all scored before Kobe got on the scoreboard, which was from two free throws.

In fact, Kobe would make his first field goal, a short jumper, with a minute left in the first quarter. This would give Kobe his rhythm, as he made the final two field goals for the Lakers of the quarter. A pull-up three and a fadeaway to beat the buzzer with three Suns players around him.

The Lakers led 35-26 after one, and they never let up. The Lakers never let the Suns get too close, and Kobe put on a clinic in the second quarter, scoring an incredible 21 points.

This includes a Kobe fastbreak slam dunk off a Suns’ turnover. Yes, this game belonged to Kobe, as he scored 40 points to lead LA to a 128-107 victory.

Game 2 began like Game 1. The Lakers jumped out all over the Suns, thanks to Kobe getting a lot of help from his teammates. The only difference is that in this game, Kobe didn’t wait too long to score, as he scored the game’s first field goal on a jumper.

The Lakers kept attacking the Suns in the paint, driving easily in for many layups and dunks. After leading 65-56 at the half, many believed the game would continue to play out like Game 1, but the Suns had other plans.

Phoenix went on a run, led by Jason Richardson, who scored 12 in the quarter, and Grant Hill, who scored 14. Both players were hitting their jumpers, while also beating the Lakers at the rim.

With the score tied at 90-90 heading into the fourth, everyone in Staples Center knew Kobe was about to take over. Right? Not in this game, instead, it was Pau Gasol leading the Lakers’ fourth quarter surge.

Gasol did it all. From blocking Leandro Barbosa’s shot attempt at the rim to finishing not one, not two, not three, but four layups in the quarter.

Of course, Kobe would come away with the highlight of the game. Kobe attacked Hill, going to the basket before stopping and dribbling behind his back as he calmly knocked down the jumper.

The Lakers took a 2-0 series lead after winning 124-112 in Game 2. Would the Lakers good fortune travel with them to Phoenix?

Kobe certainly brought his stellar play along for the trip. The Black Mamba made jumper after jumper, including a beautiful fadeaway on the baseline.

But Kobe wasn’t doing it alone. He got help, especially from Pau Gasol. This includes Kobe finding Gasol with a nice bounce pass in the paint, with Gasol finishing with a monster slam dunk.

The Lakers looked good, leading 32-29 after the first quarter, and they started the second with a bang. Andrew Bynum missed a free throw, but Shannon Brown soared in for a put back dunk.

Unfortunately for the Lakers, this game belonged to Amar’e Stoudemire. The Suns’ big man dominated the game, especially in the second half. He scored 16 in the third and 13 more in the fourth, including a reverse layup over Gasol.

The Suns successfully defended their home-court, winning 118-109 behind Stoudemire’s 42 points and 11 rebounds.

Game 4 was crucial for the Suns, as they didn’t want to head back to LA down 3-1. The Suns played a perfect team game, with everyone getting involved, including Channing Frye, who broke out of a shooting slump by drilling four threes on the night.

With 1:32 remaining in the game, the Suns held a 106-97 lead and looked to end the game, but Kobe, the warrior he was, wasn’t ready to quit. Kobe drilled a tough jumper while being fouled by Nash.

After missing the free throw, Kobe would finish a left-handed layup and connect on another jumper while also setting up Lamar Odom for a three.

Still, this wouldn’t be enough as the Suns held the Lakers off, as Hill put the nail in the coffin by hitting a jumper with 54 seconds remaining. The Suns tied the series at 2-2 with their 115-106 victory.

Back in LA, fans believed the Lakers would get another easy home win, and Kobe wanted to make their wish come true, as he scored 15 first half Points, including a tough double clutch jumper he banked in with 9:50 left in the first half.

But this game wouldn’t be just the Kobe show, it would be a battle between former MVPs as Steve Nash also scored 15 first half points, including a fadeaway over Gasol with five minutes left in the first half.

At halftime, the Lakers held a 53-45 lead. The Lakers stretched their lead to 18 at one point and looked to cruise to an easy win. But the Suns didn’t quit and with 20 seconds remaining in the game, they trailed by only three: 101-98.

Nash fired up a three with 13 seconds left and missed but he grabbed his own rebound and quickly kicked it out to Richardson who took and missed a three. Frye then grabbed the board and passed it back out to Richardson who banked in a straight away three to tie the game at 101-101 with just 3.5 remaining.

The Lakers had one more chance and everyone knew Kobe would be taking the last shot. Kobe did take that shot, a double clutch fallaway three, but he airballed. Under the basket was Ron Artest, who grabbed the ball and quickly tossed it up as time expired, and the shot banked in.

The crowd erupted as the Lakers won 103-101 to take a 3-2 series lead.

Kobe clinches series

The Lakers had a chance to return to the NBA Finals for a third straight season and a chance to repeat. Kobe and his team knew they needed to take care of business in Phoenix, as they didn’t want to go back to LA for a risky Game 7.

The Lakers opened Game 6 by using a strategy coach Phil Jackson often implemented: getting his team’s big man the first shot in the post. It would be Bynum hitting a short shot in the post.

Nash quickly answered by nailing a short rainbow jumper to tie the game at 2-2. Kobe would get on the scoreboard next with a jumper, giving the Lakers a 4-2 lead.

The hero of Game 5, Ron Artest, got involved early. First, Artest stole the ball after a lazy pass from Robin Lopez, and finished with a big slam dunk in Lopez’s face.

Later, Artest found himself wide open after the Lakers demonstrated beautiful ball moment, and drilled a three. Artest continued his stellar start to the game on the Lakers next possession, getting close to the basket and connecting on a short hook shot.

The Suns weren’t going to just bow down to the Lakers. They came ready to play, led by their veteran, Grant Hill. The former Rookie of the Year winner made a three in the corner, while being knocked down by Bynum. Hill completed the four point play.

Hill later took Kobe in the post and spun beautifully around him to make a floater over Artest. The hero for the Suns in Game 4, Channing Frye, showcased his shooting talent early on by drilling a big three for Phoenix.

With the score tied 14-14, The Black Mamba was ready for another strike. This was especially true after suffering a cut on his finger while defending Hill. Like most on-court killers, the sight of their own blood was just extra motivation to dominate their opponent.

Kobe was swarmed by Suns defenders as he drove to the basket. Despite contact from Hill, he made the shot and drew a foul. After Derek Fisher connected on a jumper, Kobe came back with a long three-pointer, keeping the pressure on the Suns.

At the end of the first quarter, the Lakers led 37-34, largely thanks to Kobe’s 10 points, and Artest’s 12 points.

The two teams continued to go toe to toe in the second quarter. Sasha Vujačić opened the quarter for LA by nailing a three-pointer. On the Suns’ next possession, Jared Dudley answered by hitting a three of his own.

The game looked like it would remain close, as the score was 42-41 with 8:46 remaining in the quarter. This was when Kobe reentered the game and things would swing in the Lakers’ favor. But it wouldn’t be Kobe leading the attack.

Kobe’s teammates stepped up big in the second quarter. After Goran Dragic hit a jumper to give the Suns their first lead of the second quarter at 43-42 with 8:04 remaining, they went scoreless for three minutes and seven seconds.

During this time, the Lakers saw made buckets from Vujačić, who made a jumper, and Bynum, who finished an alley-oop off a pass from Lamar Odom.

Kobe made just one basket in the quarter, a long three-pointer from the Western Conference Finals logo on the court. At the half, the Lakers held a comfortable 65-53 advantage.

The Lakers struck first in the third when Fisher made a long jumper over Nash. Nash would respond by entering the paint and drilling a rainbow jumper that just missed being blocked by Bynum.

Nash did all he could to keep the Suns in the game in the third. He hit two more jumpers for Phoenix, as well as setting up Frye for a jump shot and Stoudemire for a dunk.

Still, it wasn’t enough, as the Lakers blew open the game. Artest continued his hot streak from early in the game by converting a layup off an offensive rebound, a three, and a flip shot at the rim.

Artest started the attack in the third, but it was Kobe who finished it. Under two minutes to go in the third, Kobe made three tough jumpers in a row, helping to push LA’s lead to 91-74 after three-quarters of play.

The Lakers ticket was all but punched for a return to the NBA Finals. Nothing could go wrong for LA, right?

At the start of the fourth, after Dragić made a jump shot, Vujačić elbowed Dragić in the face, which resulted in a flagrant foul. After making both flagrant foul free throws, Dragić attacked the hoop and scored a layup, cutting the Lakers lead down to 91-80.

All the momentum belonged to the Suns and Dragić, in particular. Odom missed a point blank layup for the Lakers and this started a fastbreak where Dragić finished another layup.

Kobe, who normally rested until about the eight-minute mark, got off the bench during this run, as coach Phil Jackson knew this was a crucial moment in the game.

Luckily for the Lakers, Jordan Farmar quieted the crowd with an 18-foot jumper. With Kobe back in the game, he looked to take over, but his first two shots, a 14-foot jumper and a three, missed.

The Suns answered with an in-your-face slam dunk by Stoudemire over Gasol, which put Phoenix on a 12-2 run, and the Suns now trailed 93-86.

Fisher halted the bleeding with a long jump shot, but Stoudemire kept pushing on the other end. After the Suns’ big man was fouled and made both free throws, he finished a tough layup in the lane.

The Lakers lead was now just five at 95-90. If there was ever a time for Kobe to take over a game, it was now. Kobe would rise to the occasion by nailing a tough jumper to beat the shot clock.

Later, Kobe found Fisher as the defense surrounded him, and Fisher nailed a jumper, giving LA a 99-92 lead with 3:27 remaining.

With 2:19 seconds remaining in the game, Nash dashed past all Lakers defenders and made a layup, trimming the Lakers’ lead to three points at 99-96.

The Suns had been a thorn in Kobe’s side in recent years, and The Black Mamba was ready to pull it out. Kobe answered Nash’s layup with a tough jumper over two defenders.

Kobe would not let the pressure get to him and was not going to let Nash’s Suns beat him in the playoffs again. The Lakers led 105-100 with less than 50 seconds remaining. Kobe had the ball in his hands with Hill draped all over him.

Kobe made his move, pump-faked, and drilled a tough jumper, forcing the Suns to call a timeout. As Kobe ran to the huddle, he held his arms out like a plane. He certainly was flying his team home as winners.

Kobe would ice the game on the free throw line, making three free throws, giving himself 37 points and his team a 111-103 victory.

The Lakers were headed to the NBA Finals, and the Suns were sent home as Los Angeles ended their rivalry with Phoenix.

The 2010 Western Conference Finals was a showcase of Kobe’s ability to control the game and demoralize the opposition. Kobe’s ability to rise to the occasion and deliver when it mattered most is what separated him from the rest of the league.

The 2010 Lakers vs. Suns series will always be remembered for Kobe’s incredible close-out performance, a testament to his greatness on the basketball court.