Picture Gallery (LAT)

May 1 - Staples Center, Los Angeles. Kobe Bryant was on fire from minute one, scored 38 points and the Lakers defeated the Nuggets 104-100 to take a 2-0 lead of their first round series.

After a playoff-opening game with a triple double, Andrew Bynum continued to shine, this time dominating the paint in the offensive end with 27 points to add to his 9 rebounds.

Pau Gasol had 13 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists and much of the offense went through his hands. Despite the fact that they never trailed, this time the Lakers suffered the Nuggets until the final buzzer sounded. L.A. led by as many as 19 in the third quarter, 71-52, but the Nuggets started to found some rhythm, took advantage of some Lakers turnovers and run their fastbreak to slowly reduce the margin and keep their hopes alive until the end. It wasn't enough but it showed the Lakers they can not get distracted against a team that is not better than them but can score points (they led the league during the regular season) and they can do it fast.

Denver got within 4 points with 3 minutes to go but couldn't get closer. Ty Lawson, Denver's top scorer rebounded from a 7-point performance in game 1 and had 17 of his 25 points in the second half to lead his team. Ramon Sessions had 14 points, including a couple of key baskets at the end.