The walls were closing in on Bryant in Game 3. Anointed by many as the heir to Michael Jordan's throne, expected to carry the Lakers to a championship, he struggled mightily in the first two games in Boston. His team was about to dissolve at home and he was getting ripped in Curt Schilling's blog (based on his one-game observations, Schill told the world that Bryant yells at his teammates). Talk about your low moments.
Bryant responded with 36 points (12-for-20 shooting), including a couple of crucial isolation baskets in the final 70 seconds. Kobe got long-range help from Slovenian Sasha Vujacic (20 points on 7-of-10 shooting).
"I just tried to stay calm," said Bryant. "I'm not pressing and I'm not worried or anything like that. I have all the confidence in the world. I just play. I just do what I've learned to do throughout the years."
Asked to cite the reason for victory, Lakers coach Phil Jackson said, "It was the leadership of Kobe Bryant. We stayed aggressive out there and Kobe was very instrumental in that."
Bryant's 3-pointer put the Lakers ahead for keeps with 6:55 left. In the closing seconds he canned a 19-foot jumper and an 11-foot floater in the lane to keep the home team on top.
"It's my responsibility to put the ball in the hole," said Bryant. "We've got to figure out how to win ballgames when we don't shoot particularly well."
"Give them credit," said Boston coach Doc Rivers. "I thought they were the more aggressive team all night. Our defense was pretty good. Our offense was not. We had a chance to steal a game here when our guys were off."
Paul Pierce, who scored 50 points in the two wins in Boston, converted only 2 of 14 shots, scoring 6 points. Kevin Garnett scored 13 points, but he hit only 6 of 21 shots. Ray Allen led the Celtics with 25 points.
"It was not a beautiful ballgame," said Jackson. "That's a transition game from East Coast to West Coast. There should have been a day off, probably, between the transition between coasts."
