Nba Playoffs, Western Conference | featured news

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.

There are plenty of far-reaching playoff scenarios facing NBA teams heading into tonight's season finales, which find six of the eight Western Conference seeds still up for grabs.