科比罚球定乾坤，11年往事不复返

西部半决赛的第一场比赛以109-98湖人获胜而终结。比赛的底线是罚球线。
Bryantgot there because he was one of the few Lakers comfortable drivingthrough the lane and into its resident giants Carlos Boozer and MehmetOkur.

科比站在了那里。科比是湖人少数能够直冲篮下，并挤入布泽尔和奥库这两个大块头中间还能感到惬意的球员。
"It's nice . . . it's a chance to bang," Bryant said.

“这非常棒. . .这是给予重击的绝妙机会，”科比表示。
Then,once at the line, Bryant tugged on his shirt and smoothed his strokeand just kept swishing them. Or was that the exhale of a Jazz team thatwilted with each point?

站在罚球线上，科比拉了拉他的T恤，温柔的投出弧线，篮球进框。对爵士的得分洗礼势在必行。每得一分，爵士是不是感觉到死之将至的无奈和随之而来的疲惫？
"It was our biggest scoring threat of the night," Coach Phil Jackson said.

“这是我们当晚最大的得分威胁点。”主教练菲尔杰克逊表示。
Kids, please, do try this at home.

孩子们，请在家里也试试。
Bryant made a franchise playoff-record 21 free throws in 23 tries。

科比罚球23次，罚中21个。这是科比季后赛生涯新高。
Mostimpressive, in the fourth quarter, with the Jazz closing to four pointsas Bryant made only one of six shots from the field?

令人印象深刻的是，第四节，爵士追分到4分。科比投篮仅6投1中。
He made six of eight free throws to clinch it.

但科比用8投6中的罚球弥补了这点，也间接锁定了胜利。
The easiest of shots. The most exhausting of shots.

最容易的投篮。毫无激情的投篮。
Bryant's free throws wiped out the Jazz, which walked out with 17 more rebounds but one fat loss.

科比用罚球打垮了爵士。虽然爵士比湖人要多17个篮板，但一切还是无济于事。
"When he's getting to the line that much and making all those shots, it makes him very, very tough to stop," said Utah's Kyle Korver, shaking his head.

“他频繁冲击内线，一次又一次站上罚球线，球一次又一次的打进篮筐。这让他，非常，非常难被遏制。”科沃尔摇头表示。
The simplest of tasks. The most inspirational of tasks.

最容易的任务。最鼓舞人心的任务。
Bryant'sfree throws buoyed a Lakers team that spent most of the game doubledover in the pain and embarrassment of being pushed around on nearlyevery possession

科比的罚球鼓励了整个球队。湖人曾经用双倍的努力来战胜伤痛，还有老天不公的戏弄。湖人的一切来之不易。

"This guy is not like a lot of great players, this guy is different, this guy has a will like nobody else," Lamar Odom said.

“这个人和其他那些伟大球员不太一样，这个人与众不同，这个人拥有的强大意志力。其他人望尘莫及。”奥多姆表示。
You know what Odom calls him?

你知道奥多姆怎么称呼科比吗？

“Kobe-Wan Kenobi."

“科比-欧比旺-肯诺比“(欧比旺-肯诺比，电影《星球大战》里的绝地武士)。
"Because he just sees and understands things," Odom said.

“因为他在场上无所不知，”奥多姆表示。
Thelast time the Lakers advanced this far in the playoffs, the localslooked at the foul line and saw doom. They were so numbed by ShaquilleO'Neal's awful foul shooting, every trip to the line felt like a tripto the dentist.

湖人上次在季后赛走这么远还是在鲨鱼时代，所有的人关注罚球线的奇迹，但是失望而归。奥尼尔糟糕的罚球，每踏上罚球线，就好像是死亡之旅的前奏。

Now,fans look at the foul line with delight. At the end of the game,because he will have his hand on the ball, Bryant will be the onetaking those free throws.

但如今，所有的球迷欣喜雀跃的面向罚球线。科比双手持球，科比用罚球命中终结了这场比赛。
"Andthink about it, in the entire league, is there anyone in a bigsituation who you would trust more?" Ronny Turiaf asked. "Today, likealways, he was amazing."

“你想想，在整个联盟，在重要关头还有人比他更值得你信任吗？”图利亚夫表示，“今天，像往常一样，他太让人不可思议了。”
The most underrated of plays. The most imperative of plays.

被低估的得分点。至关重要的得分点。

鉴于科比在罚球线上冷静的表现，科比让这一切都像是理所应当的发生，结束。你想知道他怎么没有和他的大个子伙伴分享他的罚球心得？
"It'sextremely important because they're easy baskets . . . they're openlooks," he said. "You go up there and miss two free throws, andsometimes that can change the momentum, it's as good as a turnover."

“这是容易得分的机会，所以这至关重要。无人防守的投篮。”他表示，“你站在那里，投失2球，有时候这两球就能改变比赛进程，就跟出现失误一样是致命的。”
The Jazz also looked at it simply。

爵士却很简单的看待这个问题。

主教练斯隆皱着眉头说，“他们（裁判）吹哨子，他罚球，这很好。我不想做什么评价。”
Said Andrei Kirilenko with a shrug: "What can we do? We can only stop fouling him."

基里连科耸耸肩表示，“我们能做什么呢？我们只能不再对他犯规。”
Yeah, then he shoots 90% from the field, and then what do you do?

很好，他命中率达到90%，我们又能做什么呢？
Itwas a day when Bryant said the booming "MVP" chants meant more to himbecause they were real -- Mike Bresnahan broke the story for The Timeson Saturday, with a formal announcement to come Tuesday.

今天的“MVP”响声震耳欲聋，这对科比的意义非凡。因为这些喊声是真实的，科比即将捧杯而归。Mike Bresnahan在星期六的时候就向The Times泄密——科比即将获得MVP。在即将来临的周三这个消息会被官方证实。
"Yeah, it held more weight to it," he said. "Before, it was like, 'Thanks, but I'm not going to win it anyway.' But now . . ."

“确实，这个的分量比以往重，”他表示，“在此之前，这有点”谢谢，我并不没有准备好获奖“的意味，但如今. . ."

It was also a day, however, when his MVP ability meant more to the Lakers because it was routine.

对湖人，这也是非常重要的一天。科比的MVP对湖人也意味重大，虽然这是例行程序，科比MVP的能力早已不需要得到公认。
Henot only led the team in free throws, but in free passes, his sevenassists including one memorable alley-oop pass to Pau Gasol duringtheir second-quarter surge.

他的罚球，妙传，7个助攻带领湖人获胜。另外，一个与加索尔的空中接力让场上气氛更加沸腾。
"This is why he's the MVP," Korver said.

“这就是为什么他是MVP”科沃尔表示。

With about four minutes left in the game, Bryant's toughness also inspired one notable fan.

比赛还剩4分钟结束，科比奋不顾身的表现激励了球场边的一位非常有名的球迷。

A loose ball landed in the lap of courtside fixture Lou Adler.

一个球卡在了场边支架的连接处。

It was only there for a moment, though, as Jack Nicholson leaned over and wrestled it from him.

老尼尔森弯下身子，用力的从那里拿回球，虽然这只维持了一会。

When asked about the game's physical atmosphere, Bryant smiled.

当问及比赛中的身体对抗，科比笑了。

"If you're an '80s fan or a basketball aficionado, you like that kind of stuff," he said.

“如果你是80年代的粉丝，或者篮球爱好者，你会喜欢那样的对抗。”他表示。

Memories of most Bryant fans go back only 11 years, but the Jazz brought all those memories back.

科比的大部分粉丝都要追溯到11年前的那个故事，但爵士把我们拉回到了现实。

Do you remember the last time Bryant took shots this important in the playoffs against the Utah Jazz?

你还记得上次与爵士季后赛中，科比的关键投篮吗？
Yep,Game 5 of the 1997 conference semifinals, O'Neal fouls out, Bryanttakes a final three-point attempt in regulation and a few more inovertime and what happens?

1997年西部半决赛的第5场，奥尼尔犯满被罚下场，科比最后时刻的三分，还有加时赛中多次3分的出手，结果发生了什么呢？

Airball. Airball. Airball. Airball.

三不沾，三不沾，三不沾，三不沾
"Yes, that was a horrible experience, thank you for bringing that up," Bryant remembered Sunday with a grin.

“是的，那是段不堪回首的往事，谢谢你重新提起，”科比在星期天被提起这段往事的时候，嘴边还有大大的微笑。

Elevenyears later, those wild plays have become steady plays, the flashinesshas turned to functionality, the gauche has become the great.

11年后，一切都变得不同。曾经的稚嫩的表演，如今稳定的发挥；曾经偶尔的灵光一现，如今的关键先生；曾经的笨拙，如今的伟大。

Elevenyears later, Bryant is no longer a child, he has one on his lap duringSunday's postgame news conference, 2-year-old Gianna.

11年后，科比不再是个孩子，他的膝上却有个孩子，2岁的Gianna。那是在周日的季后赛上。

Eleven years later, the priorities have changed, and parents say the darnedest things.

11年后，优先权已经发生改变。父母们都会谈论匪夷所思的事情了。

Somebody wanted to know if Bryant's adorable daughter could say, "MVP."

很多人想知道科比可爱的女儿会不会说，“MVP。”

"I don't know," Bryant said with a grin. "But I know she can say dee-fense."

“我不知道，”科比露齿大笑，“我知道她会说防-守”。

Bill Plaschke can be reached at bill.plaschke@latimes.com. To read previous columns by Plaschke, go to latimes.com/plaschke.