Filed under: Lakers, Suns, NBA Playoffs
PHOENIX -- Ron Artest swears he was there to support Lamar Odom.His blood brother from Queensbridge, N.Y., and the Lakers were in the NBA Finals against Boston in 2008, and the then-Sacramento Kings small forward had crossed the country to see the Game 6 loss in Beantown that ended it all.
But whether by design or serendipity, it was indeed the day he inserted himself into the Lakers' script. He awkwardly wandered into the shower area of the visitor's locker room at TD Banknorth Garden, then boldly told Kobe Bryant that he wanted to throw a few punches the next time the Celtics were knocking him out of the championship bout. Two years later, the most unlikely of storybook endings is on its way to being complete.
The Lakers finished Phoenix 111-103 in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals in large part because of Artest's 25-point outing and seemingly endless energy. Driven by disrespect once again, Artest called out Suns coach Alvin Gentry for dismissing his offensive skills with his defensive strategy and backed up his words with a 10-of-16 shooting night in which he buried 4-of-7 three-pointers. And now the Celtics await in the NBA Finals, with Artest insisting he wouldn't be pinching himself between now and Thursday's series opener in Los Angeles.
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Full story at http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/05/30/kobe-chat-helped-change-artests-life/
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