Lakers' Whining Won Game 5

Donaghy charges officials manipulated results to stretch playoff series

(NEWSER) - A disgraced former NBA referee claims that league officials conspired with referees to stretch the 2002 Lakers-Kings playoff series to a money-making seventh game, the Los Angeles Times reports. The allegation from Tim Donaghy came in a letter to the FBI that made broad claims of misconduct and match-fixing among NBA referees and executives. More»

Anthony, Iverson combine for 31 as Nuggets dig deep hole

(NEWSER) - Once again, the Denver Nuggets couldn't keep their emotions or Kobe Bryant in check. Bryant scored 22 points and the Los Angeles Lakers took a 3-0 lead in their first-round series, routing the flustered Nuggets 102-84 tonight. The Nuggets are going to have to get more out of their All-Star duo of Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson if they hope to take the series back to the Staples Center. More»

LA turns 17-point deficit into win after coach signs contract extension

(NEWSER) - A few hours after Lakers coach Phil Jackson secured a two-year, $24 million contract extension, his team put together a performance that quelled the boos that have been echoing recently in the Staples Center. Kobe Bryant put up 24 points and seven assists in three quarters, and Sasha Vujacic contributed 22 points in the 127-99 blowout, the Los Angeles Times reports. More»

Cops vow to jail miscreants as coliseum fills

(NEWSER) - An estimated 150,000 clogged streets in downtown Los Angeles today as the NBA-champion Lakers took a victory lap around downtown, the Times reports. Some 80,000 more jammed the Coliseum for a rally at parade’s end. Police, hoping to avoid the looting and chaos that followed Sunday’s clinching victory over the Orlando Magic, turned out in force. More»

(AP) - Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, and the Los Angeles Lakers emphatically silenced the doubters and the Houston Rockets, winning Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals 89-70 today to advance to the Western finals against the Denver Nuggets. With Gasol scoring 21 points and grabbing 18 rebounds, the Lakers looked like the conference's top-seeded team, not the inconsistent one that maddened fans all week. More»