Cavaliers – LeBron beats Kobe’s Lakers

NBA Obsessed takes you into the hit and run game of NBA Basketball.

LeBron James has the Cavaliers looking up!

This game came down to the last nine seconds.

You knew who was going to get the ball, but the result was not what you thought.

Kobe never got the shot off.

Final Score Cavaliers 98 – Lakers 95.

Final Stats LeBron 41 points – Kobe 33 points.

Luke Walton fumbled one of the pass exchanges and it cost the Lakers a chance for a heroic Kobe 3 pointer to tie the game.

That was the game decider, but not the game.

With LeBron James and Larry Hughes patrolling the 3-point line like armed guards with attack dogs, Bryant dished off to Luke Walton. James closed and Walton’s brain cramped. He fired the ball back to Bryant, who was unable to even get a shot off as time expired in the Cavs’ thrilling 98-95 victory on Sunday afternoon at Staples Center.

For a team taking pride in its resurgent defense, it’s tough to play it better than that. source

What the game was all about

The game was about two Superstars of the NBA trying to lift their teams to new heights without powerful surrounding casts.

James is averaging a league- leading 29.6 points on 48.1 percent shooting one season after leading the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals for the first time in the franchise’s inglorious history.

Bryant, the league’s two-time defending scoring champion, is second behind James so far this season with an average of 27.7points on 44.8 percent shooting. He has adjusted his game somewhat to better fit the Lakers’ newfound balance in 2007-08. He is playing fewer minutes and scoring fewer points. source

Just a perfect Sunday afternoon marquee matchup.

The Cavaliers and LeBron won this one, but it could have easily gone the other way. The Lakers were leading by 9 with 8 minutes left. Varejao had sprained his ankle and then Ilgauskas fouled out.

LeBron brought them to victory, but the key was moving Ira Newble from shooting guard to power forward. Ira spoke about is versatility as being an important factor for his team in the post game interviews and he was certainly right tonight.

So Drew Gooden became the center, Newble became the power forward, James stayed at small forward with guards Hughes and Daniel “Boobie” Gibson.

“It’s crazy — start at the two, finish at the four,” Newble said with a grin. “What helps me do that is just playing hard. When you play hard, everything else falls into place.” source

Not hard to see Cleveland’s lack of depth with that lineup.

LeBron kept talking team defense in the post game interview, but really it was mostly LeBron and Kobe on this afternoon and what could be better?

NBA Basketball Fan Question Will Cleveland be able to make a playoff run this year?

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

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