Ron Artest went from goat to toast of Los Angeles with a game-winning last second rebound and buzzer beating layup, giving the Lakers a 103-101 win over the Suns and a 3-2 lead in the series.
Yeah he'd just missed a couple dumb jump shots when the Lakers were more interested in running out the clock.
Yeah he only shot 2-9 FG and 0-3 from downtown.
And yeah he only got 5 rebounds in 31 minutes.
But one of those buckets and one of those boards were the biggest of his career and could lead to his first appearance in the NBA Finals.
Artest recognized that Kobe Bryant had been hit on his final shot attempt with the clock winding down in the closing seconds of the game. He calculated that Bryant's shot would fall short because of the contact, so he darted past Jason Richardson who was guarding him and got the rebound. No one on the Suns was in position to defend and Artest hit what he described as the "biggest layup" of his career.
When asked about Ron's big play, Lamar Odom said, "His whole career, his whole life was about perserverance, sticking with it. Tonight was a prime example of that.
During post-game interviews, a large rumble rocked the room while Ron was at the mic.
"Is that like an earthquake or something?" Artest asked.
It wasn't an earthquake, but it might have been a bandwagon of newly converted Artest fans loaded up and thundering along with thousands of Laker lovers on board.
and
No comments:
Post a Comment