It had everything that you could ask for from a great playoff basketball game.
It even had an apparent momentum shifter for the Suns as it looked like the game was headed to overtime after Jason Richardson's miracle banked three.
Then Kobe got the ball and everyone knows what happens when the Black Mamba gets the ball with time winding down in the fourth quarter and his team is down by a basket.
When Kobe Bryant has possession in the final moments of a game, it's hard for the opposition not to get overwhelmed with covering him.
And for good reason. The man is unstoppable at the buzzer and has been for the entire season.
But what the opposition fails to recognize, time and again, is that Kobe has teammates. And Bryant's Lakers are more than a formidable bunch.
Just ask Ron Artest.
Artest bailed the Lakers out Kobe-style with a heads up rebound and lay-up at the buzzer to hand the Suns their most devastating loss of the season.
It was the most painful way for the Suns to lose that game. The reason? Not because they lost at the buzzer. Even though that stings more than any of us can imagine.
The main reason, however, is that they let their respect for Kobe get the better of them. And that's surprising because the Suns are a veteran team with experience beating the Lakers in the playoffs.
It happens.
The guy kills everyone at the buzzer.
He even killed the Suns in '06 in the playoffs after draining a two at the buzzer in overtime to give the Lakers the win.
They clearly had that in mind when guarding Bryant at the end of the game.
Fundamentally, basketball is the ultimate team sport. And at the key moment of the game, the key mom...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
