National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
L.A. Lakers 92, Denver 88
When: 9:30 PM ET, Sunday, May 6, 2012
Where: Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado
Officials: #36 David Jones, #55 Bill Kennedy, #57 Greg Willard
Attendance: 19155


LAKERS 92, NUGGETS 88: Kobe Bryant scored 22 points, and Ramon Sessions and Steve Blake hit big 3-pointers late as visiting Los Angeles moved within one win of ousting Denver from the postseason.

Andrew Bynum added 19 points and seven rebounds and Jordan Hill came off the bench to supply 12 points and 11 boards as the Lakers took a commanding 3-1 series lead.

Los Angeles can close out the series when it hosts Denver in Game 5 Tuesday night.

Sessions and Blake hit consecutive 3-pointers to snap a tie and put the Lakers in command 92-86 with 18.9 seconds to play.

Danilo Gallinari scored 20 points and Andre Miller added 15 to pace the Nuggets, who held the biggest lead of the game at seven points late in the second quarter.

The Lakers never led by more than three points until Hill's follow-up dunk made it 80-76 with 7:13 remaining.

Denver forged its last tie at 86 on Gallinari's corner jumper with 1:06 left, but Sessions and Blake delivered the daggers to put the Nuggets on the brink of elimination.

Blake scored eight of his 10 points in the final quarter for Los Angeles, which was only 3 of 15 behind the arc until the final two 3-pointers.

Trailing by six at halftime, the Lakers started to take control in the third period, using a 10-2 run to move ahead 61-58, but the Nuggets clawed back to take a 71-70 edge into the fourth.

Los Angeles also led by three midway through the second quarter but Denver closed the half with a 15-6 surge to take a 51-45 lead into the locker room.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Play was interrupted in the second quarter when a woman wandered onto the court. TNT reported she was arrested for trespassing and previously had been banned from the arena. ... Nuggets reserve F Al Harrington began the game wearing a mask to protect his fractured nose, took it off early in the second quarter and put it back on later. He was injured after taking an inadvertent elbow from Bynum in Game 3. ... Bynum attributed his scoreless first half in Game 3 to arriving late to the arena and said he wasn't ready to play, citing Denver's altitude as one reason. He hit all four of his shots and had nine points in the opening quarter Sunday.

Top Game Performances
 
L.A. Lakers   Denver
Kobe Bryant 22 Scoring Danilo Gallinari 20
Kobe Bryant 6 Assists Ty Lawson 6
Jordan Hill 11 Rebounds Kenneth Faried 7
Jordan Hill 4 Free Throws Made JaVale McGee 4
Kobe Bryant 1 Steals Andre Miller 3
Andrew Bynum 3 Blocks JaVale McGee 4
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
L.A. Lakers 92 45.3 5-17 9-18 22 48 7 4 14
Denver 88 45.3 3-19 7-12 17 38 9 9 10
Upcoming Games
  • Denver will play their next game on the road against L.A. Lakers. The Nuggets have a W/L % of .553 after a win and .607 after a loss.
  • L.A. Lakers will play their next game at home against Denver. The Lakers have a W/L % of .585 after a win and .680 after a loss.