Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl

Kobe Bryant picked up his dribble with two hands and soared to the hoop, looking more like the cocky teenager who used to wear a No. 8 Lakers jersey than the weary veteran with five rings and perpetually gimpy ankles.

When Bryant moved the ball to his right hand and maliciously jammed it overEmeka Okafor, he electrified the Staples Center crowd and created a wave of momentum that Los Angeles rode all the way to the brink of the second round.

Bryant scored 19 points and threw down two stirring dunks on a sprained left ankle, and the Lakers beat the New Orleans Hornets 106-90 in Game 5 on Tuesday night, taking a 3-2 series lead.

If Bryant’s second-quarter dunk on Okafor turns out to be the Lakers’ signature moment of a taxing first-round series that began with a stunning Game 1 loss, Bryant acknowledges that’s what he was trying to achieve.

“I just had a lane to the basket,” said Bryant, who went 8 for 13. “It looked like he was going to challenge me at the rim, and I decided to accept the challenge. … It’s a message for us that this was important. It’s time to raise up and do what we’ve got to do. They’re not saved dunks. I don’t have much of those left.”

Bryant left New Orleans on crutches two days earlier after getting hurt late in Game 4, but he refused an MRI exam or extensive treatment when he got home. Postseason injuries are nothing new for the two-time NBA Finals MVP, who has persevered through a slew of them during 67 playoff games in the previous three years.

“That’s what he does,” said Monty Williams, the Hornets’ frustrated coach. “All this talk about his ankle. Did it look like his ankle was hurting? OK then.”

WRITTEN BY STATS LLC and The Associated Press & FULL STORY HERE