Behind Bryant, Lakers Lock Up 15th Championship

By Sam Wechsler – Talk Radio News Service

Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Orlando Magic in Orlando Sunday night to win the 2008-09 NBA finals. The Lakers won the seven-game series 4-1 to give the franchise its 15th NBA title.

Head Coach Phil Jackson now has won a record 10 NBA titles, winning six with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls and four with Bryant and the Lakers. With this most recent title, Jackson is now arguably the greatest NBA Head Coach of all time. The win gives Bryant his first title without Shaquille O’Neal.

The Lakers won two games during the series in overtime and two others handily in regulation. They broke away from the Magic and never looked back in Sunday night’s game thanks to a 16-0 run during the second quarter, and they ended up winning 99-86.

The Magic, a team that relies predominantly on three-point shots, struggled in game 5 due to their ineffective 29.6% from behind the arc, compared to the Lakers’ stellar 50%. The Magic were also hampered by Dwight Howard’s foul trouble; he had 5 before the fourth quarter began.

Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, and Derek Fisher all helped Bryant immensely in earning the NBA finals victory. Fisher hit a key three-pointer in game 4 to send it to overtime, and Gasol contributed to Dwight Howard’s foul trouble. Odom was effective coming off the bench scoring 17 points, second on the team to Bryant’s 30.