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Pau Gasol shines as Los Angeles Lakers beat Denver Nuggets in game 7 to advance into Western Conference Semi-Finals – NBA Playoffs Recap

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Pau Gasol shines as Los Angeles Lakers beat Denver Nuggets in game 7 to advance into Western Conference Semi-Finals – NBA Playoffs Recap
After a disappointing game 6 where he managed 3 points on a 1 of 10 shooting night, Pau Gasol entered game 7 of the Lakers-Nuggets Western Conference series with a purpose. By the time, the night ended the Spanish big had scored
23 points, grabbed 17 rebounds, including 11 offensive,  and six assists to lead the Lakers to a 96-87 victory and see them through to the Western Conference Semi-Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
It was a great game to end an exciting series, as the Lakers avoided becoming the 9th team in NBA history to blow away a 3-1 series lead. The Lakers are now 15-1 in game 7 at home, a phenomenal record to say the least.
They have 11 straight Game 7 wins at home.
Ty Lawson had 24 points and 6 assists. He was 11 of 14 from the field till the third quarter, but then Kobe assigned himself to guard Lawson, who failed to keep up. Lawson missed all five field goal attempts in the final quarter.
It was a close game in the 1st half with no long streaks and leads. There were quite a few lead exchanges and the Lakers closed the half leading 48-42.
LAL came out strong in the third period, going on a 14-4 run to extend their lead to 62-46 with 7:22 remaining in the quarter. The game was, however, filled with many ups and downs as the Nuggets rallied late in the period to reduce
the Lakers lead to only 1 heading into the final period.
Trailing by as many as 16 points, the Nuggets went on a 19-4 run to tie the game at 68, after which Kobe Bryant scored a free throw to give the Lakers a 69-68 lead at the end of the quarter.
A three pointer by Steve Blake early in the final period gave the Lakers a 75-73 lead. Denver kept on trying to come back into the game but the Lakers were relentless on rebounds. Andrew Bynum put in a missed jump shot by Gasol
and connected on both free throws on the next possession, and Bryant sunk a three pointer with under a minute left to give the Lakers a definitive 92-84 lead. The Lakers eventually won 96-87.
Bynum was also impressive for the night, scoring 16 points and grabbing 18 rebounds. Bryant had a relatively slow night, scoring 17 points and dishing 8 assists in the process. But he played the role of a play maker and aided Gasol
and Steve Blake get some points.
Kobe was vigorously double teamed by the Denver defense and he used the opportunity to draw the defense to him and give open looks to the other guys. Steve Blake capitalized on Bryant’s game plan and scored a playoff high 19 points,
including 5 three pointers.
Metta World Peace returned to action for the Lakers are completing his 7-game suspension for elbowing OKC guard James Harden. His presence made a great deal of difference to the Lakers team, as not only did he manage 15 points
including 4 three pointers, he was tough on defense and held Danilo Gallinari and Andre Miller of the Nuggets to a combined 2 of 19 from the field, making them ineffective in the game.
“Metta made some plays that were absolutely freaking amazing. He was monstrous for us tonight" said Lakers coach Mike Brown after the game.
Al Harrington had 24 points for the Nuggets off 9 of 18 shooting, and Aaron Afflalo added 15 points. The Lakers had 14 blocked shots and 10 steals compared with 9 blocked shots and 5 steals for the Nuggets. The Nuggets also had
18 turnovers compared to just 11 for the Lakers. Both teams shot 35-89 from the field but the Lakers were much better from the distance with the help of Steve Blake. L.A went 11 of 24 from beyond the arc while the Nuggets were 7 of 26.
The Lakers now advance to the Western Conference Semi Finals where the Oklahoma City Thunder have been waiting for them since May 5th after they won their first round matchup against the Dallas Mavericks in straight
games. OKC will have home court advantage and the Lakers will travel to Oklahoma City to play the first of 7 games. The Nuggets now look to next year after a better than expected performance in the playoffs.

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