Kobe came up big in game 7 of the conference semis against the Utah Jazz. Last nights game between the Jazz and Lakers was a great one. Los Angeles had led by double digits most of the game, and then in the fourth quarter Utah started to make a push.
They went from being down 16 points at the end of three quarters, two within two points in the last minute. Then Kobe took over. In the game, he'd had 34 points, and 12 in the fourth quarter. His two key shots in cruch time are what won the game for the Lakers. This puts the L.A. into the conference semis, just four wins away from the finals.
Kobe was quoted saying "It's a big step for us, it shows a lot of character on our part to come in here and leave with a victory"
Phil Jackson added in "We ran out of gas a little bit in the second half as they played with a frenzy and intensity I had confidence that we'd make the right plays at the end of the game."
Make the right plays they did.
But we can't give full credit to the Lakers, being that Utah missed two 3 pointers near the end, one would've tied it at the buzzer.
Kobes final stats for the game were:
34 points
8 rebounds
6 assists
Pau Gasol also chipped in 17 points and 13 boards.
