After winning Game 4 at the Pepsi Center in the Mile High City, the Los Angeles Lakers were thought to have taken a decisive edge in the first-round series with the Denver Nuggets. With a 3-1 lead heading back to the City of Angels, it seemed like a forgone conclusion that the Lakers would finish off the Nuggets at home in front of Lakers fans at the Staples Center.

Unfortunately, the Lakers weren’t prepared for a motivated Nuggets squad that wasn’t ready to back down an inch despite playing in Los Angeles. After hearing about All-Star center Andrew Bynum making a statement that this would be an easy close-out game for the Lakers at Staples, Nuggets Coach George Karl used this quote to motivate his players to avoid elimination against the overconfident and cocky Lakers.

As arguably one of the best head coaches in the league today, Karl struck a chord with his players and helped lead them to an impressive victory over the Lakers in Los Angeles. Even though Kobe Bryant lit up the scoreboard with a game-high 43 points, the Nuggets were able to hold off the late surge by the Lakers. Kobe’s unbelievable performance in the fourth quarter was something to marvel at, but it wasn’t enough in the closing seconds to put the Lakers over the top and advance to the second round.

Coming into Game 6, the Lakers will be the team with all the pressure on them as they try to put away the Nuggets on their home court at the Pepsi Center in the Mile High City. This will be no easy task with the Nuggets as confident as ever and prepared to even up the series at three games apiece.

Whether or not the Lakers can bounce back in Game 6 remains to be seen, but as of right now it appears that the Nuggets have the edge with a passionate crowd backing them in Denver.

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