Unlikely Hero Artest Saves Game 5

Filed under: Lakers, Suns, NBA Playoffs

LOS ANGELES -- Move over Lorenzo Charles. You've got company.



Well, Ron Artest didn't know that. But he was told as he walked down a corridor at the Staples Center late Thursday night his game-winning shot an hour earlier conjured up memories of Charles' look-what-I-found rebound and bucket that won the 1983 NCAA title for North Carolina State.



"No, don't remember that play,'' said the Lakers forward, who was 3 then. "What game was it?''



Given the details, Artest's face lit up and he said, "I'm going to YouTube it.''



First, Artest might want to return many of the voice mails and text messages that were accumulating from well-wishers after his last-second putback gave the Lakers a 103-101 win over Phoenix at the Staples Center for a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference finals. He said he had about 50 in the first hour after the shot and they were piling up by the minute.



With the game tied 101-101 and after the Lakers inbounded with 3.5 seconds, all Lakers guard Kobe Bryant could manage was an air ball three-pointer after double pumping from the right corner. Artest ran around shell-shocked Suns guard Jason Richardson, grabbed the ball in flight in front of the rim and banked in a layup that rattled around a bit before falling through as the buzzer sounded.

 

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Full story at http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/05/28/unlikely-hero-artest-saves-game-5/