The Denver Nuggets played strong against the Los Angeles Lakers and pulled out a 102-99 victory on Tuesday night. With the win, the Nuggets are only at a 3-2 series disadvantage and will head home to the Pepsi Center for Thursday night's Game 6.
Lakers Vs. Nuggets, NBA Playoffs 2012 Game 5 Final Score: Kobe Bryant Scores 43 But Denver Wins, 102-99
Kobe Bryant was almost unstoppable during the final minutes of the game, hitting key three after key three, but he never could quite hit that shot to tie the game. Still, the Nuggets successfully fended off the Lakers in a game that saw Bryant score 43 points.
Andrew Bynum scored 16 points and grabbed 11 boards, but he was the only other starter to score in double digits. Matt Barnes had 11 points off the bench.
The Nuggets wouldn't have been able to claim the win had it not been for JaVale McGee, who came up with 21 points and 14 rebounds. More than that, McGee channeled Wilt Chamberlain among his scoring plays and came up with two blocks. Also playing a key role off the bench was Andre Miller, who scored 24 points and dished the ball out for eight assists.
Arron Afflalo led Nuggets starters with 19 points while Kenneth Faried fell a rebound short of a double-double, finishing with 10 points and nine rebounds.
Will the Nuggets be able to even this series on Thursday night?
For more on the Lakers, check out Silver Screen and Roll and SB Nation Los Angeles. For more on the Nuggets, head over to Denver Stiffs and SB Nation Denver.
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