By: Dustin Chapman

The San Antonio Spurs were well on their way to steal Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals on the road at the Staples Center. There they were in the middle segment of the third quarter, sitting on a 20-point lead and all of the pressure shifted to the Lakers. The problem? When pressure is shifted towards LA, it means that 2007-2008 league MVP Kobe Bryant has an opportunity to play hero, and he did just that.

Los Angeles was, once again, trailing by as many as 20 points in the third quarter, but climbed on the back of their superstar, who showed no remorse. Jump shots? All day. Penetration? Absolutely. Improvisation with the dribble? Of course. Getting his teammates involved? You bet. Kobe Bryant was absolutely spectacular throughout the entire second half of Game 1, where he scored 25 points and dished four assists to lead his Lakers to victory.

Kobe Bryant wasn’t the only reason, however. The Laker defense deserves nearly as much credit as Bryant individually, as they locked in from the mid-third quarter to the final buzzer. In the fourth quarter, LA’s defense held San Antonio to just 13 points, as opposed to their previous three quarters of giving up over 20 points.

Tim Duncan and Tony Parker were exceptional throughout the majority of the game, combining for 48 points, 28 rebounds, and eight assists. Unfortunately, the rest of the team shot just 35.7% from the field and simply had no answer for “The Black Mamba.”

Final Score: San Antonio 85, Los Angeles 89

This series is far from over, but for an aging team looking to capitalize on one of their final opportunities to win a title as a group, this certainly was not a good sign.

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