The best game of my second-favorite playoff series ever. Kobe Bryant scored 50 points in a losing effort as Tim Thomas hit his famous pair of huge three-pointers; first the one to put the game into OT, and then the dagger from the baseline with about two minutes to play in the extra period. You may recall that TT was sent home by the Chicago Bulls after appearing in just three games at the start of the season. The Suns picked him up in an attempt to help fill the void left by the absence of the injured Amare Stoudemire. Thomas ended up providing everything they’d hoped for and more throughout the team’s exciting run that came to an end just two wins shy of a Finals appearance. Phoenix had no post presence whatsoever and ran a rotation that really only went seven players deep. The closest thing they had to a PF or C was either Thomas or Boris Diaw. Steve Nash ran the show and the rest of the guys spaced the floor and put up points in a hurry (Phoenix averaged 107 a game in the ’06 postseason).
Throughout the series, the Lakers had been pounding the ball into the paint with Lamar Odom and KWAMAY BROWN, who was playing the best basketball of his life. Despite being much less talented than the Suns (Luke Walton was starting at SF), the Lakers were able to take advantage of Phoenix’s lack of size and jump out to a surprising 3-1 lead. Kobe Bryant, who averaged a career-high 35.4 PPG that season, was yet to reach 30 points in the series. Coming off of a blowout loss in game five, he decided it was time to take matters into his own hands. Raja Bell was suspended for this game after clotheslining Bryant in the previous one, so it was a prime opportunity for the Mamba to go off. If Odom boxes out and/or Bryant makes that airball during the final 10 seconds of regulation, then Kobe gets it done and the Lakers advance to play the Clippers in a battle of LA.
I remember being so damn torn… I’d become Tim Thomas’s #1 fan and I absolutely loved watching the Suns run up and down the floor, but I also wanted to see that fight for Staples Center bragging rights. I recall simply hoping for great games and dramatic finishes. Game six certainly delivered.
Unfortunately, Kobe mailed it in as LA was trounced in game seven. I get a kick out of the fact that no one ever brings that up. I mean, wasn’t this supposed to be Kobe’s “MJ” moment? I know Lamar Odom is no Scottie Pippen and Kwame Brown is no Dennis Rodman, but this was exactly what Kobe asked for when he and Snaq filed for divorce. Probably not even MJ could’ve carried that squad to a title, but he certainly wouldn’t have taken three shots in the second half to make his teammates look bad. That–and that Kobe bit off a lot more than he could chew–is all I’m saying.
