Lakers wither under Kobe’s glare

BOSTON – On his way into the losing locker room, the most angry man in the Garden was heard to bellow a spontaneous stream of curses into the ears of his Los Angeles Lakers. As the door slammed behind them, a witness heard Kobe Bryant(notes) screaming that he needed some-bleeping-one to make a stand with him.

The Lakers have been pushed to the edge and Bryant to the brink. Here it was, the most important night of these NBA Finals, a Game 5 with everything even, and it felt like the post-Shaq Lakers with Bryant left to fend for himself. Bryant had gone for 38 points at the Garden, one tough shot after another, a great Celtics defense daring him to make baskets from one more odd angle, one more contested circumstance.

The loneliest Laker had to be Bryant, watching one breakdown after another, a procession of Celtics getting baskets and rebounds and loose balls when they most needed them. He needed someone to grab a defensive rebound, stop Paul Pierce(notes) and get between Rajon Rondo(notes) and the rim.

A little more than an hour after the 92-86 loss, the surliness was gone, replaced with pursed lips and a glare gone to Game 6 now. Bryant wore unlaced high-tops for an ankle that had been hurt again as he walked to a waiting bus on the loading dock.

“We’ve regressed since Game 1,” Bryant confessed to Yahoo! Sports. “Our defense belongs on milk cartons in the last two games.”

All around him, these Lakers were unraveling. Andrew Bynum(notes) struggled on one knee. Lamar Odom(notes) felt sick. Kevin Garnett(notes) destroyed Pau Gasol(notes), and Paul Pierce obliterated Ron Artest(notes). Rondo made dramatic, defining plays. The Lakers let down everywhere. This looked like 2008 again, looked like the manhandling that doomed the Lakers to a humiliating Finals loss in Boston.

When the game was truly lost, the Celtics scored on 12 of 13 possessions in the third quarter. All too easy, all impossible for Bryant to answer, even with what was the hottest hand in the game. He would go for 19 points in the third, and the degree of difficulty had Celtics coach Doc Rivers turning to his two assistants, Tom Thibodeau and Armond Hill, and saying simply, “Those are tough shots. … He’s making tough shots.”