From Lakers' bench

Heaving to catch his breath, his hands braced on bad knees and his Lakers down by three points, Kobe Bryant hunched over at the free-throw line with 25 seconds to play in a typical Kobe moment. It was time to save his team from defeat.

To those who tuned into the game at that moment, that's what you might have thought. But through the blizzard of the post-victory confetti, after the dogfight against the Boston Celtics, after miraculous performances by Ron Artest and Pau Gasol, one thing is clearer now: This is no longer Kobe's team. He is no longer the team's sole savior.

That team a year ago, when LA stomped on the Orlando Magic, that was Kobe's team. This year's Lakers survived a near collapse in Game 7 and rode the stifling defense of Artest, his assortment of clumsy looking shots, two massive free-throws by Sasha Vujacic as well as Gasol's gritty double-double to victory.