Lakers - Denver 3rd game 103-97

	1	2	3	4	T
LAL (10-5)	26	22	23	32	103
DEN (9-4)	28	24	27	18	97

DENVER -- Trevor Ariza's clutch steals are punching a dagger in Denver's season just as much as Kobe Bryant's big baskets.

For the second time in three games, Ariza stole an inbounds pass in the final minute to help Los Angeles beat the Nuggets, this time 103-97 at the Pepsi Center for a 2-1 lead that restored the Lakers' home-court advantage in the Western Conference finals.

2009 NBA Playoffs

• Nuggets-Lakers page

Ariza, whose steal of Anthony Carter's lazy lob sealed the Lakers' win in the series opener, sliced in front of Carmelo Anthony to swipe Kenyon Martin's inbounds pass with the Lakers clinging to a two-point lead with 36 seconds left.Anthony fouled out to prevent the breakaway basket and Ariza sank both free throws for a 99-95 lead."Trevor, he's very crafty, he's long, he's fast, he's quick and he's a ball hawk," said Bryant, who scored 41 points. "He does a good job of reading those things. It's a great defensive play."As he did in the first game, Lamar Odom guarded the inbounds, only this time it wasn't the shortest player on the team he was facing, but the 6-foot-9 Martin trying to get the ball in over the Lakers' 6-10 forward.

Kobe Doing Work

With 41 points in Game 3 vs. the Nuggets, Kobe Bryant eclipsed his own Lakers' record for points scored in the first three games of a conference final.

Player	Points	Opponent
'09 Kobe Bryant	113	Nuggets
'01 Kobe Bryant	109	Spurs
'87 James Worthy	96	Sonics
'77 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	91	Blazers

"He's long, look at him," Sasha Vujacic said of Odom. "He's very long. He's athletic. He's got eyes behind his ears. He knows how to jump all around the ball."Hounded, K-Mart called timeout, but on the redo, he wasn't so lucky as he led 'Melo too much with the pass and Ariza snatched away both the ball and Denver's shot at a win for the second time in five nights."It was kind of deja vu from Game 1," Anthony said.Ariza thought so, too."It was kind of funny," he said. "It was pretty much the same thing, different players. But we got the steal. We got a win, that's the most important thing."Bryant made four free throws in the final 22 seconds to seal the win after sinking a 3-pointer over J.R. Smith with 1:09 left to put Los Angles ahead for good at 96-95."Kobe does that time and time and time and time and time again for game winners," Odom said of Bryant's 3-pointer. "It is routine -- for him."Pau Gasol added 20 points and 11 rebounds.

Fast Facts

• The Lakers claimed a 2-1 series lead as they won their seventh straight road playoff game vs. the Nuggets, tying the NBA record for consecutive road playoff wins against a single opponent.

• The loss snapped Denver's 16-game home win streak dating back to the regular season, dropping the Nuggets to 6-1 at home in the '09 playoffs.

• Los Angeles has won 12 of its last 13 playoff games vs. Denver and are 9-1 this postseason when reaching the 100-point plateau.

• The team leading after the first quarter has lost every game in the series.

• Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 41 points, his ninth career 40-point playoff game and second of the series.

• Carmelo Anthony led the Nuggets with 21 points, but scored three points in the second half and shot 4-for-13 from the field.

-- ESPN Stats & Information

"I think Gasol was the key to them winning tonight," Anthony said. "Getting him going and him making shots, it made it hard to double-team him and still try to guard Kobe out there."Anthony scored 21 points but just three after halftime, and Denver lost at home for the first time since March 9."I don't really think they did anything different tonight. But I missed some easy shots," said Anthony, who had averaged 35 points in his previous five games but went just 4-for-13.Before Saturday night, the Nuggets, who had won 16 straight games at home, had been dominant in Denver in the playoffs. They ran away with all six games at Pepsi Center against New Orleans and Dallas by an average of 17.5 points.The Nuggets led most of the game but were done in by poor decisions and a failure to keep their composure. They shot just 5-for-27 on 3-pointers and committed three technical fouls.Game 4 is Monday night, when the Lakers and Nuggets will have the Pepsi Center to themselves after World Wrestling Entertainment moved Monday Night Raw to the Staples Center in Los Angeles because of the double booking that WWE chairman Vince McMahon milked for all it was worth.That doesn't mean the crowd in Denver won't see some elbows, forearms and more trash talking like they did Saturday night, when there were five technicals called, including one on Smith for taunting Vujacic after swishing a 3-pointer at the third-quarter buzzer.The Nuggets took a 79-71 lead on Smith's bucket. Vujacic, who had just hit a 3-pointer of his own, his first points of the game, nearly stole Billups' pass, but Smith snared it, spun and swished the 3-pointer as the backboard lit up in red and he fell to the floor with the crowd going crazy.Caught up in the moment, Smith jumped up jawing at Vujacic and was T'd up.After Bryant swished the technical free throw, Denver would miss its first nine shots of the fourth quarter, finally putting a shot through the hoop on Martin's dunk with 6:34 left."I rank this right up there with some of the biggest road wins we've had since I've been a Laker," Bryant said. "Because, in the past we always had guys that had a lot of experience. Robert Horry, Rick Fox, Ron Harper, they've all been through this before. For our guys this is brand new."Last year we weren't tested like this. And it goes a long way for us as a ballclub."Game notes
Lakers C Andrew Bynum has been saying he wants to play more minutes and his coach said he can if he plays better defense. He had seven points and four boards in 21 minutes. ... This marked the first time Bryant had scored 40 points twice in one playoff series.

Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press

Denver Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups, left, battles Los Angeles Lakers forward Pau Gasol of Spain for a rebound during the second half of Game 3 of the NBA basketball Western Conference finals Saturday, May 23, 2009, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant (24) goes up for a basket against Denver Nuggets center Nene of Brazil, right, during the second half of Game 3 of the NBA basketball Western Conference finals Saturday, May 23, 2009, in Denver. Lakers won 103-97 over the Nuggets. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant shoots over the top of Denver Nuggets guard J.R. Smith during the final minutes of Game 3 of the NBA basketball Western Conference finals Saturday, May 23, 2009, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Denver Nuggets forward Chris Andersen, left, and Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum battle for a rebound during the first half of Game 3 of the NBA basketball Western Conference finals on Saturday, May 23, 2009, in Denver. (AP Photo/ Jack Dempsey )

Los Angeles Lakers head coach Phil Jackson wipes his eyes during the second half of Game 3 of the NBA basketball Western Conference finals against the Denver Nuggets Saturday, May 23, 2009, in Denver. (AP Photo/ Jack Dempsey )

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant goes up for a dunk over the top of Denver Nuggets guard Dahntay Jones, left, and Nene during the second half of Game 3 of the NBA basketball Western Conference finals Saturday, May 23, 2009, in Denver. (AP Photo/ David Zalubowski )

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, left, drives against Denver Nuggets guard Anthony Carter during the third quarter of Game 3 of the NBA basketball Western Conference finals Saturday, May 23, 2009, in Denver. (AP Photo/ David Zalubowski )

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant puts the ball to the basket as Denver Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin, left,, tries to defend during the first half of Game 3 of the NBA basketball Western Conference finals Saturday, May 23, 2009, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn, pool)

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, front, and Denver Nuggets forward Chris Andersen battle for a loose ball during the first half of Game 3 of the NBA basketball Western Conference finals Saturday, May 23, 2009, in Denver. (AP Photo/ Jed Jacobsohn, Pool)

Los Angeles Lakers forward Luke Walton, left, defends against Carmelo Anthony during the first half of Game 3 of the NBA basketball Western Conference finals Saturday, May 23, 2009, in Denver. (AP Photo/ Jack Dempsey )

Denver Nuggets head coach George Karl gives directions to his team during the first half of Game 3 of the NBA basketball Western Conference finals against the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday, May 23, 2009, in Denver. (AP Photo/ Jack Dempsey )

Denver Nuggets guard Dahntay Jones sits on the bench during the first half of Game 3 of the NBA basketball Western Conference finals against the Los Angeles Lakers Saturday, May 23, 2009, in Denver. (AP Photo/ David Zalubowski )

Denver Nuggets forward Chris Andersen, left, defends as Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant goes to the basket during the first half of Game 3 of the NBA basketball Western Conference finals Saturday, May 23, 2009, in Denver. (AP Photo/ Jack Dempsey )

Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony, left, guards Los Angeles Lakers foward Luke Walton during the first quarter of Game 3 of the NBA basketball Western Conference finals Saturday, May 23, 2009, in Denver. (AP Photo/ David Zalubowski )

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, center, reaches for the basketball as Denver Nuggets center Nene of Brazil, back, and Dahntay Jones, right, defend during the first quarter of Game 3 of the NBA basketball Western Conference finals Saturday, May 23, 2009, in Denver. (AP Photo/ Jack Dempsey )

Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum, left, shoots over the top of Denver Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin during the first quarter of Game 3 of the NBA basketball Western Conference finals on Saturday, May 23, 2009, in Denver. (AP Photo/ David Zalubowski )

Denver Nuggets guard Dahntay Jones, right, defends against Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant during the first quarter of Game 3 of the NBA basketball Western Conference finals Saturday, May 23, 2009, in Denver. (AP Photo/ David Zalubowski )

Another marvelous match! It's such a nice game. Lakers did well in Denver's court. When im awake i already missed out 1st n half of 2nd quar so I didn't know what happen to Anthony. It's a big waste and really hard to play without Anthony in Denver. But yet they still did great! haha congrats to Kobe n Lakers in performing such a good match! Kobe shot confidently and accurately yet scored 41points and get the record again. He saved the whole team in last quar ye he fouled lots a people last minute too! haha thats how they get the last 4points! Anyway Lakers , Nuggets !! I'm waiting for ur next match~
Tomorrow Orlando Magic - Cleveland Caviliers 3rd match~ Stay tune to my blog for latest info ^^ Cheers