it’s not easy to root for the front runner,

but i do live in LA, four metro stops away from staples center, and what i saw last was spectacular.

it was as unbelievable as the attrocities that we’ve been seeing and hearing about in the middle east.

first of all, tim duncan had no business being able to hit a fadeaway with Shaq big old stinking giant arm in his face with less than five seconds to go in the game.

that shot alone was one of the most clutch shots ive ever seen.

which by the way was preceeded by Kobe’s clutch shot that had put the lakers ahead, which forced Duncan’s heroics.

but with 0.4 seconds left in the game, for Derek Fisher to catch the inbound pass from gary payton turn around and nail that last shot perfectly is mindblowing.

and proof that every player in a Team is valuable and important and needs to be ready to be the hero of the game.

fisher, as you know, was a starter last year but was demoted once the soon-to-be hall of famer payton arrived. fisher spent most of yesterday’s game and most of this season on the bench, only to come off the bench last night to pop the most clutch shot of the season.

the shot that may just turn out to be the difference between the Lakers being world champs instead of the Spurs being world champs because now the series comes back here to Staples and if the Lakers win tomorrow then San Antone is eliminated and no one is tougher in the NBA than the defending champs and their sneaky little frenchman named Tony.

but what i was most blown away by was my neighborhood.

nobody was screaming, nobody’s car horns were sounding, nobody was spilling out into the streets.

the hollywood hills, where i live, were silent.

perhaps a plate of caviar was passed from one debutante to another, but that was it.

this blogger, however screamed twice. once when duncan sank his miracle and once when fisher reminded us that theres a reason why they call this a team sport.

“one lucky shot deserves another,” Shaq told ABC Sports minutes after dreams were crushed deep in the heart of Texas.

and despite this being the season that the Lakers were supposed to get their lift from Malone and Payton, it was Devon George and Derek Fisher who won yesterday’s game, the most important game the Lakers have won this season.

pure magic last night.

the ghosts of mj and magic and bird and all the heroes from long ago were embodied in the least likely Lakers and im sorry Tim Duncan but when you hit 21 points and pull down 22 boards and lose, then your season is over.

bring on the t-wolves!

in other news, i’ve seen many great things on metafilter, but this might be the best

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