Kobe Is Go-Two-Up Guy

Kobe Bryant did not score much, but he scored last.

He did not play to tie or spare himself margin for error or even bother himself with the fact that two Phoenix Sun players were on him as time dwindled and the playoff series threatened to tilt back the Suns’ way.

Instead, down by one point with less than 20 seconds to play, then less than 10, then less than five, Bryant zigzagged his way to the free-throw line, then jumped over Jason Kidd and around Rodney Rogers, hung in the air as they fell back to earth, and swished a 14-footer with 2.6 seconds left.

That shot--and Penny Hardaway’s desperate miss at the buzzer--gave the Lakers a frenetic, pulse-pounding, 97-96 victory over the Suns before 18,997 at Staples Center on Wednesday and a 2-0 lead in this best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series.

“Nobody was happy with the effort we put forth tonight,” Shaquille O’Neal said. “And Kobe saved us with his fabulous shot.”

Bryant, burdened by foul trouble early and some errant play late, scored 15 points.

O’Neal, who dominated the game for three quarters, scored 38 points and had 20 rebounds, but the Suns’ pressure defense in the fourth quarter took the ball out of his hands as the Lakers stumbled.

The Lakers committed two disastrous turnovers in the last 90 seconds--one by Bryant--and missed four free throws in the last 2:18, one by Bryant that could have tied the game with 43.5 seconds to play.

O’Neal blocked Hardaway’s driving shot with 22.9 seconds to give Bryant the chance to win it.

“I was so mad I missed the free throw,” Bryant said. “I was just glad I got the chance to redeem myself. . . .

“I just tried to go right, cut left, and went up for a jump shot. I think that I had a hand up, so I had to pull the shot back a little bit, and thank God it fell.”

It wasn’t the designed play.

“We actually had set up a screen-roll in transition,” Coach Phil Jackson said, “and he waved it off, wanted to do isolation instead, because he got in trouble the time before penetrating.”

For the Suns, who trailed by nine to start the fourth quarter, Cliff Robinson and Hardaway led the charge, with Robinson scoring 30 and Hardaway 27, many of those coming in the warp-speed pace of the fourth quarter.

“This is Shaq’s game,” Jackson said. “He controlled this game and controlled the energy of the game, and yet it got away from us simply because we didn’t make some free throws, he missed some free throws down the stretch, and we stopped being able to operate with the basketball.”

Bryant saved the Lakers, but a great deal of sloppy Laker play--and an inspired, raging fourth-quarter effort by the Suns--brought the Lakers to that desperate moment.

Protecting a 94-92 lead with less than 90 seconds left, Glen Rice turned the ball over, and fouled Robinson on the play. When Robinson made both free throws, the score was tied with 1:05 left.

Then Bryant tried to spin in the lane, was stripped, and Hardaway followed Robinson’s layup miss with his own layup, giving Phoenix its first lead since the first quarter, 96-94, with 46.8 seconds to play.

After Bryant drew a foul, he missed the second free throw, and the Suns had a one-point lead and the ball with 41.2 seconds left.

“We started the fourth quarter in a daze, and they came out with a lot of energy and put that game in jeopardy,” Jackson said. “We were lucky to pull it out.

“Actually probably didn’t deserve that win, other than the fact that we were able to play some defense down the stretch.”

Jackson said the tenor of this game does not necessarily mean that Phoenix has figured a way back into this series.

“There’s no such thing in this kind of situation,” Jackson said. “Every game has its different personality.

“That in itself might give them hope, but I mean, who cares? They go back home, they’ve got to have that mentality, anyway, because they’re in jeopardy.”

The Suns put the Lakers in jeopardy with a full-court press to start the fourth quarter after they trailed by 12 points in the final minute of the third.

That immediately provided two quick turnovers, led to two quick baskets, and suddenly Phoenix was back running on supreme--and its engine was clunking no longer.

In a flash, Robinson had poured in nine points, Hardaway had converted a three-point play and the Suns were within 76-73 with 10:16 left.

Amid the continued frenetic play from Hardaway and Robinson, after misses by Rice and Ron Harper, the Lakers led only 93-92 with 2:18 left and O’Neal at the line after an intentional Phoenix foul.

He missed both, but Rogers (three for 11 shooting on the night) missed a three-pointer, and Harper drew a foul, making one of two free throws with 1:40 left to give the Lakers a 94-92 lead.

Eventually, it came down to Bryant.

“Kobe Bryant is one of those guys you just sit back and just wait to see what he’s going to do,” Harper said. “I don’t know how he made the shot. . . .

“What he told me, ‘That was like me playing outside alone, and I was 12 and I’m thinking, man, this is great.’ He’s a kid who makes some mistakes, but comes out and just plays hard.

“That was a great shot.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

THE SERIES

LAKERS vs. PHOENIX

Lakers lead Western Conference series, 2-0

GAME 1

Lakers: 105

Suns: 77

GAME 2

Lakers: 97

Suns: 96

GAME 3

Friday, 7:30 p.m.

at Phoenix, Ch. 9, TNT

GAME 4

Sunday, 2:30 p.m.

at Phoenix, Ch. 4

GAME 5*

Tuesday, TBA

at Staples, Fox Sp. Net

GAME 6*

May 18, TBA

at Phoenix, Ch. 9, TNT

GAME 7*

May 20, TBA

at Staples, Ch. 4

*if necessary

Coverage

THE REST

WAS HISTORY

O’Neal says he didn’t sleep after being named MVP, then got 38 points, 20 rebounds. Page 9

STERN COMMENT

Commissioner is aware that there is a lot of buzz for the Lakers. Page 8

CLIPPER FACTOR

Rodney Rogers missed a chance to stop Kobe Bryant’s winner. Page 8

Elsewhere

PACERS: 97

76ERS: 89

Miller scores 29 as Indiana wins on the road to push Philadelphia to the brink. Page 7