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Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE/Getty Images
L.A. acquired Pau Gasol prior to trade deadline and the seven-footer appears to have been the missing piece of the Lakers' puzzle.
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By Lauren Brill
The Global Top 10 is your weekly guide to NBA global news. In this week's edition find out who stepped up for the Cavs, who played big for the Hawks and which three-point specialist helped the Hornets defeat the Spurs in Game 2.
Pau Completes the Puzzle It was just about a year ago when Kobe Bryant let it be known he no longer wanted to be a Laker. Kobe's wishes stemmed from the belief that he was not surrounded with enough talent to win a championship. Clearly not even Kobe anticipated what was to come.
The Lakers finished in first place in the West and the superstar received an MVP award. Kobe credits his teammates for the team's success thus far. So, what changed in a year? The answer is Pau Gasol. Acquiring the center prior to the trade deadline, the seven-footer appears to have been the missing piece of the Lakers' puzzle. Game 1 of the Conference Semi Finals, Gasol gave another demonstration of how he adds a new dimension to the Lakers' squad, stuffing the stat sheet with 18 points,10 rebounds, five dimes and two blocks in the Game 1 109-98 victory.
1. Pau Completes the Puzzle It was just about a year ago when Kobe Bryant let it be known he no longer wanted to be a Laker. Kobe's wishes stemmed from the belief that he was not surrounded with enough talent to win a championship. Clearly not even Kobe anticipated what was to come.
The Lakers finished in first place in the West and the superstar received an MVP award. Kobe credits his teammates for the team's success thus far. So, what changed in a year? The answer is Pau Gasol. Acquiring the center prior to the trade deadline, the seven-footer appears to have been the missing piece of the Lakers' puzzle. Game 1 of the Conference Semifinals, Gasol gave another demonstration of how he adds a new dimension to the Lakers' squad, stuffing the stat sheet with 18 points,10 rebounds, five dimes and two blocks in the Game 1 109-98 victory.
2. Peja Drops 25 in Game 2 In Game 2 the Spurs failed to blow out Peja Stojakovic's fire. After nailing 17-of-28 from beyond the arc in the Hornets' First Round series against the Mavs, Stojakovic carried over his deft three-point shooting skills to Round 2. In Game 2 of the Conference Semifinals against the reigning champs, the San Antonio Spurs, the Serbian-born athlete dropped 25 points. Clearly comfortable from three-point range, the Hornets' forward drained 5-of-7 from beyond the arc en route to a Game 2 102-84 win at home. A powerful weapon for his squad, teammate Morris Peterson told 2theadvocate.com in regards to the three-point specialist, “Unbelievable. He’s filling it up right now. He’s probably the best shooter I’ve ever played with.”
 Photo: Peja Drops 25 in Game 2
3. Hedo Heats Up in Game 3Orlando turned the series against the Pistons on Wednesday upside down. While it seemed like nothing went the Magic's way in Game 1 and Game 2, all that changed on their home floor. Just like his team, Hedo Turkoglu clicked on all cylinders in Game 3. Despite a slow start, scoring only five points in the first half, the Turkish athlete turned it on in the second half. On the night he hit 7-of-18 from the field, including 3-of-5 from three-point land for 18 points. He also had six dimes en route to Orlando's Game 3 111-96 victory. Teammate Dwight Howard explained to the AP, "The main thing is we played the way we know how to play - run and try to cut the turnovers down. We can beat anybody.''
4. Spurs' Trio Steps UpTim Duncan spoke loud and clear on Thursday night, letting the Hornets know that they couldn’t hold him back in Game 3. The Big Fundamental didn’t use words to communicate his message but let his game be his conduit. With his first double-double of the series, the Virgin Islands native registered 16 points and 13 boards along with four blocks and three dimes en route to a Game 3 110-99 victory over New Orleans. Helping the Spurs' cause, Duncan's' teammates Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker each scored 31 apiece. Parker, of France, also had a game-high 11 dishes. After the game sixth man, Ginobili credited the win to the team's mentality as he explained to the AP, "We know that going 3-0 - it's never been done to come back like that. Today, for us, it was a Game 7. We knew if we didn't win today, it was almost over. So we had a different approach. We played with more passion, more edge.''
Photo: Duncan Digs Deep
5. Al Horford Makes his MarkIn the NBA you have to earn your keep. No one cares about the records you set or the championships you won in college. The time is now and to gain your peers respect you have to prove that you got the goods on the grand stage. Al Horford has done just that. On a team that many predicted would be swept by the big bad Boston Celtics in the First Round of the 2008 NBA Playoffs, Horford, the Atlanta Hawks' starting center, helped the series go to seven games. Despite losing the series 4-3, the Dominican athlete, proved that he was to be taken seriously from here on out. In Game 6, an elimination game, the runner up for the Rookie of the Year accolade registered, 16 points, five rebounds and three blocks for a 103-100 home court win.
 6. Vujacic is a Spark for the LakersAll good teams have at least one player that can come off the bench, rejuvenate their squad and put points on the board. For the Lakers on Sunday night, Sasha Vujacic provided a spark off the bench. In L.A's Game 1 109-98 win over the Jazz, the Slovenian collected a playoff career-high 15 points, including two three-pointers. Making sense of his play, he explained to the Press-Enterprise, "It's not me, it's the team. They got me open looks and I felt good. They just went in." His offensive game wasn’t the only part of his play that flourished. Defensively he matched up up against Kyle Korver who he held to 2-of-7 from the floor. Following the Game 1 victory the reserve spoke on his future plans involving his defensive effort to the Press-Enterprise as he said, "I'm going to try to do my best to try to come in and shut him (Korver) down."
7. Parker Scores 23 Points The Hornets may have been able to contain Tim Duncan in Game 1 but that didn’t mean they could slow down Tony Parker. Parker led the team with 23 points. In the first quarter he came out strong and off a fast break he grabbed two points with a reverse layup. For the play he received the Haier Play of the Day honor. Despite a 49-45 halftime lead, the former champs failed to close the deal. After hitting 9-of-17 three-pointers in the first half, the Spurs only nailed three treys in the second half as they fell to the Hornets 101-82. Following the game the French native told Hornets.com, "We knew we were not going to shot like that for the whole game. So we had to keep them close with defense, but we didn’t. They played better and tougher than us. That was the difference."
Video:
Parker: Haier Play of the Day
8. Big Z Has Big Game On any given night, the Cavs can expect LeBron James to score 30-plus points or log a triple-double. But on the road in a Game 1 of the Conference Semi Finals against Boston, he did not deliver, shooting 2-of-18 from the field for 12 points and committing 10 turnovers. The Cavs needed another player to step up and shine. Zydrunas Ilgauskas assumed a leadership role for the Cavs, registering 22 points and 12 rebounds. With 90 seconds left in the game, the Lithuanian-born athlete hit a clutch jumper to put the Cavs up by two. However the visiting squad failed to hold the lead, dropping Game 1 72-76. Big Z explained the loss to the Sports Network as he said, "Turnovers killed us. On the road, with so many turnovers, it's hard to win close games."
9. Mehmet Makes an ImpactThey own this year's MVP and a former world champion in Pau Gasol. The Lakers are no easy team to face. While the Jazz dropped Game 1 of the Conference Semifinals 109-98 to L.A., Utah made the first seeded squad earn their victory. Aggressive on both ends of the floor, Utah's center, Mehmet Okur registered 21 points and a playoff career-high 19 rebounds. Following Game 1, the Turkish athlete refocused his energy to Game 2 as he told the AFP, "The game was right there for us, we just couldn't get it and, hopefully, we will learn our lesson from this game, and we have to look forward." Unfortunately for Utah, the Lakers triumphed in Game 2, 120-110.
Photo: Mehmet makes an impact
10. Sixth Manu, a Consistent Scorer An ice cream sundae may not be the main meal but it's probably the best course. You really can't find a bad sundae. They are consistently good as they add a major perk to an already satisfying meal. While the Spurs have a phenomenal group of starters, coming off the bench they can always count on Manu Ginobili to provide a spark. Nothing new in Game 1 of Round 2 against the Hornets, the Argentinean checked into the game and knocked down his first four shots, including three from downtown. The super sub finished the night with 19 point and a team-high seven dimes. Despite a solid performance from the Sixth Man of the Year, the reigning NBA champs lost to the Hornets 101-82.
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