[cjg11582]

They did, and that was the only thing I can fault Kobe on. I understand he was trying to get his teammates involved because typically in an NBA playoff game, a collaborative effort is more productive than an individual one. But five or six minutes into the third, he has to recognize his teammates are not producing, cut his losses and attempt to take the game over. And simply hope his Laker cohorts will be motivated by that, maybe grab some offensive rebounds or start cutting to the basket when he gets in the paint. But none of that never happened.
The Lakers need to acquire another marquee player so I can return to rooting against them.