Saturday, May 31 2008 -- The Lakers celebrated the Western Conference championship title victory with a Blast. Kobe Bryant scored 17 of his 39 points in the fourth quarter, and the Lakers fought back from an early 17-point deficit to beat the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs 100-92 on Thursday night and win the conference finals in five games.

"I think it is a tremendous accomplishment,''.”I think the West is extremely tough. We're all extremely excited and proud about it. Now, it's time to go on and see if we can't finish it off “, Bryant reported.

The Lakers are 12-3 in the playoffs, counting 8-0 at Staples Center, where they haven't gone down to any team in two months. They have won 14 straight home games and 21 of their last 24 postseason games at home.
The Lakers and Pistons have met three times in the Finals, most recently in 2004, where the Detroit has won 5 games with the Pistons. Shaquille O'Neal, who teamed with Kobe Bryant to lead the Lakers to three straight championships starting in 2000, was traded a month later, and the Lakers haven't won a postseason series since then.

The Spurs led by as many as 10 points early in the third quarter, but the Lakers turned up their defensive intensity during a 19-8 run that gave them a 61-60 lead - their first since the opening minute. Bryant played a very attacking game in the fourth quarter of the game against the Spurs. Bryant scored nine points during the burst and the Lakers led 64-63 entering the final period.

Eventually the Los Angeles Lakers went on to win against the Spurs with Kobe playing very aggressively in the final Quarter of the game.