In a series that had featured four blowouts, the Western Conference Finals certainly took a turn for the dramatic on Thursday night when F Ron Artest picked up an errant G Kobe Bryant shot and flushed it home at the buzzer to give the Los Angeles Lakers a 103-101 victory and a 3-2 series lead in the Western Conference Finals over the Phoenix Suns.

BetUS Sportsbook takes its shot at NBA playoff picks for the sixth game in this series, one that the Suns must win if they hope to keep their season alive.
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#1 Los Angeles Lakers (68-29, 41-53-3 ATS) vs. #3 Phoenix Suns (64-33, 59-37-1 ATS) •Game Date/Time: Saturday, May 29th, 9:00 ET •Game Location: US Airways Center, Phoenix, AZ •TV/Radio Broadcast: TNT, Sirius

NBA Playoff Odds: Los Angeles Lakers +1.5 vs. Phoenix Suns -1.5: Game Total 216

Bryant may not have hit the game-winning shot, but he certainly has been the MVP of this series for HC Phil Jackson’s team. Bryant has now posted three straight games that came up just short of triple-doubles. He is averaging 33.0 points, 9.6 assists, and 7.4 rebounds per game in this series and is the man that seemingly always hits the big shot with hands in his face.

G Derek Fisher stepped up and gave him a ton of help in Game 5. The wily veteran scored 22 points and hit dagger after dagger that kept the Suns from going on that one huge run that could’ve taken away LA’s lead in a heartbeat.

For Phoenix, had the bench not had such a woeful first half, it probably would be up 3-2 in this series instead of down 3-2. Even though the relief men for HC Alvin Gentry ultimately scored 31 points, they only came up with one bucket in the first half.

C Channing Frye and F Jared Dudley both posted double digit efforts off of the bench in the defeat. Frye, who shot a woeful 1/20 from the floor in the first three games of this series went 4/10 and hit three triples to help bring the Suns back from a deficit that once reached 18 points.

G Steve Nash’s great game was wasted, as he shot 12/20 from the floor for 29 points to go with 11 assists against just two turnovers.

NBA Playoff Insider Tip: After getting blown out in Games 1 and 2, the Suns have suddenly covered three straight games against the Lakers in this series.

Common logic suggests that the Suns could just fall flat after suffering such an emotional defeat. However, we tend to believe that they are going to fight tooth and nail to keep this series alive and to send it back to LA.

Expect to see Phoenix throw the kitchen sink offensively at the Lakers, and the end result should be a ‘W’ for the hosts in what could be an incredibly high scoring affair.

Our NBA playoff picks are on the Suns to send this series back to Tinseltown.

My NBA Playoff Prediction: Phoenix by 3
Source: BetUS Locker Room Featured on: Handicapperspicks.com