Los Angeles Lakers, Western Conference | featured news

Utah forward Andrei Kirilenko says he hopes to return to the Jazz by Game 3 of their second-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Pau Gasol scored 25 points and Andrew Bynum added 21 as the Los Angeles Lakers crushed the Oklahoma City Thunder 111-87 on Tuesday night to take a 3-2 lead in their first-round Western Conference playoff series.

Kevin Durant scored 22 points, Russell Westbrook added 18 points and eight assists, and the Oklahoma City Thunder evened their first-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers with a 110-89 victory in Game 4 on Saturday night.

Kevin Durant scored 29 points, and Russell Westbrook added 27 as the Oklahoma City Thunder earned their first-ever playoff victory, holding off Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers 100-96 in Game 3 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series.

Kobe Bryant had 35 points and 10 assists to lead the Los Angeles Lakers back to the NBA Finals with a 119-92 victory over the Denver Nuggets in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals on Friday night.

With Denver keying on Kobe, Bryant's teammates rise to the challenge and give L.A. a 3-2 lead.

The Denver Nuggets evened the Western Conference finals Monday night, beating the Los Angeles Lakers 120-101 in Game 4 despite a hobbled Carmelo Anthony.

Kobe Bryant's big shot over J.R. Smith gave Los Angeles a one-point lead with
just over a minute left Saturday night and sparked the Lakers to a 103-97 victory
over the Denver Nuggets for a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference finals.

Carmelo Anthony scores 34 points and Chauncey Billups adds 27 to steal a win at Staples Center.

Kobe Bryant scored 32 points, but the series heads back to Staples Center on Sunday. The road to the NBA championship that the Lakers so desire has ran into a roadblock in the Western Conference semifinals.