On Friday, Kobe Bryant took "hero ball" to new heights in the 2012 NBA Playoffs. He'll need an encore presentation for his Lakers to knot the series up with Kevin Durant’s Oklahoma City Thunder.
Bryant put on a magnificent display in the game’s final period, exploding for 14 of his 36 points with an array of post moves and up-and-unders. He coupled that with a free-throw clinic in which he went 18-for-18 and hit eight in the final three-and-a-half minutes.
Even LeBron had to be amazed by Kobe’s mastery at the charity stripe.
Bryant seemed like a man amongst boys battling the Thunder wings for position in the post throughout the fourth quarter. Déjà vu happened over and over again as No. 24 outworked his defender on the right block and continued to fill it up.
Kobe wasn’t the only Laker who cashed in from the free-throw line. Andrew Bynum had 11 free throws of his own, which added to the Lakers’ series-best 41 points from the line. The Thunder, in comparison, only scored 26.
But if this was the Lakers’ best performance of the series, there were still telling signs that they w ...
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Article written by Mike Shiekman
NBA Playoffs 2012: Kobe Bryant Will Need a Superhuman Performance in Game 4
May 19th, 2012 by Mike Shiekman Leave a reply »
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