Taking It by the Horns

This is the first playoff series where he’s not trying to be Michael Jordan, and what happens?

Kobe Bryant is Michael Jordan.

These were the first pressure moments where he wasn’t trying to be bigger than the Lakers, and guess what.

Kobe Bryant was a giant.

In Sunday’s breathless late afternoon, after making two shots in two final ticks when it was too close to breathe and too loud to think, Bryant praised his young team for maturing.

But it’s not them. It’s him.

He’s the one who has grown up.

He’s the one who has finally realized the stardom buried in selflessness, the thrill hidden in teamwork, the love found in leadership.

In Sunday’s final moments against the Phoenix Suns, he amazingly did not try to steal the show, and guess what.

Kobe Bryant stole the game.

He stole it twice.

He stole it with the flair of a Robert Horry and the drama of a Derek Fisher, not combined, but separately.

He repeated two lifetime Laker memories in a span of one second.

Think about that.

He made the tying shot with 0.7 of a second remaining in regulation, a dizzy, driving baseline runner.

“He just threw it up in the air,” said stunned Sun Steve Nash.

He then made the game-winning shot with 0.2 of a second left in overtime, a fall-away 17-footer with two guys in his face.

“I’ve never seen anything in my life like that,” said stunned Sun Eddie House.

Those chilled by the roaring Staples Center crowd have surely never heard anything like that.

Those shaken by the pounding Staples Center seats have surely never felt anything like that.

The Lakers defeated the Suns, 99-98, in overtime, taking a three-games-to-one lead in the first-round series.

Jerry Buss called it “a miracle.”

Nash called it “an amazing thing.”

I’m calling it an arrival.

Ten years after he came to town, the ideal that was Kobe Bryant has finally shown up.

This is the Bryant who fans have long expected.

This is the Bryant who the Lakers have long imagined.

Said Luke Walton: “An amazing player, but an even better leader. He makes us better. All game long, he made us better.”

Said Smush Parker: “And then, in the end, he won it for us. Just like you knew he would win it for us.”

Bryant has arrived, indeed, emerging at Staples Center on Sunday amid the perspiration of a former teammate who notices the difference.

“I’ve seen Kobe do a lot of things, but this game was lost, and in so many ways, he just picked it up and pulled it back,” said Rick Fox, adding, “I was sweating so bad out there, I had to change my shirt.”

Bryant arrived not only because of those final seconds -- he has made playoff game-winners before, obviously -- but because of the long afternoon that preceded them.

Before taking the pass from Devean George on his regulation-ending layup, Bryant had not scored a basket in the fourth quarter.

Before that last shot, for the entire game, he actually had more turnovers (seven) than baskets (six).

But he led the team in assists, he prodded his teammates on defense, and when Parker made the improbable steal of Nash -- it was the league MVP’s first turnover -- Bryant was standing right there to throw in the tying shot.

“I am sure they will be playing that shot over and over, but people must understand, that is a shot that would not have been possible if not for Smush Parker’s great play,” Bryant said.

After the regulation buzzer, Bryant hugged Parker and barked into his ear.

From the young Bryant, it might have been some form of criticism. From this Bryant, it was all thanks.

“I told him, ‘This is all you. This is you being a warrior,’ ” Bryant said. “It’s important for him to understand how much I appreciated that.”

Then in the overtime, Bryant remained the leader, passing to open teammates throughout the period until finally taking the last two shots himself.

On the last shot, when Walton went up for the jump ball against Nash, everyone knew where it was going.

“I was only looking for one guy,” Walton said.

And when Bryant grabbed the ball in front of the scorer’s table, everyone knew where he was going.

“You knew he was going to shoot it,” said Sun Coach Mike D’Antoni, sighing. “And you knew he was probably going to make it.”

Think about that.

Everyone knew what was happening, and Bryant still beat them.

We all expected him to pound his chest. But then, later, he pounded his teammates’ chests.

“This is the most fun I’ve ever had,” Bryant said. “Because this is us. This is us, the entire team, enjoying the moment with the entire city of Los Angeles.”

Considering the Clippers are waiting down the hall for Round 2, the enjoyment is possibly not shared by the entire city, but you get the point.

Which is, Kobe Bryant using the word “us” is a wonderful thing.

“This game is so much more fun, so much more enjoyable,” Bryant said. “It’s a blast.”

Part of his fun is because everybody discounted the Lakers.

“In the past, people expected us to win, and when you made a shot, it was a relief,” Bryant said. “It’s different today. Nobody expects us to do this.”

But part of it is also because everybody discounted him.

Yes, it was written here after Game 1 that Bryant could not be successful if he didn’t shoot the ball more.

And yes, I was wrong, having no idea that he could so successfully meld himself into the team concept.

“I’ve been in a lot of playoff battles, but I’ve never had one quite like this,” Bryant said, adding, “To see those smiles on my teammates’ faces ... “

This is the first playoff series where Kobe Bryant is not searching for greatness, and what happens?

Greatness finds him.

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Bill Plaschke can be reached at bill.plaschke@latimes.com. To read previous columns by Plaschke, go to latimes.com/plaschke.