With Pau Gasol dominating on both ends of the court, the Lakers emphatically silenced the doubters and the Houston Rockets, winning the decisive final game of the Western Conference semifinals 89-70 on Sunday.
Gasol scored 21 points and grabbed 18 rebounds. Trying to reach the NBA finals for the second straight year, the Lakers host the opener of the conference finals against the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night.
The Lakers advanced to the Western Conference finals for the second straight season and the sixth time overall under Phil Jackson.
And at Boston, Dwight Howard and Hedo Turkoglu helped dethrone the defending champion Boston Celtics and give Orlando a chance to bring a crown to the Magic Kingdom.
Howard had 12 points, 16 rebounds and five blocked shots, and Turkoglu had 25 points with 12 assists in Game 7 on Sunday night, leading Orlando into the Eastern Conference finals 101-82.
Orlando trailed for just 36 seconds and built a lead it couldn't squander to earn the right to play LeBron James and the Cavaliers for a spot in the NBA finals. Game 1 is Wednesday in Cleveland; Orlando won the season series 2-1.
"We believe. We believe we can go all the way," Howard said. "It's going to get harder."
