Bryant, Lakers want to taste success

DENVER -- The Lakers are expecting the Denver Nuggets to pack their largest punch so far, an appropriate time for Kobe Bryant to peer into the pressure of trying to be king of the ring.

The Lakers have cornered the Nuggets by taking a 2-0 lead in a best-of-seven series that shifts today to Denver, where the Nuggets and their fans breathlessly await.

The Lakers will also breathe rapidly at first -- altitude, of course -- but then they'll go after a victory that would provide a chance to seriously study who's doing what to whom in that Houston-Utah series, seeing as how an NBA team has never won a series after trailing 3-0.

It would also mean another step for Bryant in his escalating quest to win a fourth championship. The 10-time All-Star continued to express his feelings in big-picture terms, following up some positive thoughts earlier this week with the revelation that he was "hungrier" for a championship now than he was as a fresh-faced 21-year-old in 2000.

"The first one I was so young, plus I was sharing that pressure with somebody else," Bryant said, referring to Shaquille O'Neal. "Me and Diesel both had the pressure on us to kind of get it done, he more so than I. Now the pressure's squarely on my shoulders to try and bring another championship here. It's something that I accept. I think I'm a little hungrier now than I was the first time."

Can he handle the hunger?

"It comes with the territory. You can't be Superman and not deal with the pressure of dropping somebody when you go to rescue them," Bryant said.

Continuing the metaphor, the Nuggets must be the first-round villains, presumably more comfortable at home than they were at Staples Center. The Nuggets were 33-8 at Pepsi Center this season, fourth-best home record in the Western Conference.

The Lakers managed to survive Allen Iverson's 51-point splurge in a 111-107 victory here in December, but the stakes are abundantly higher now.

The Lakers are expecting the Nuggets to speed up the game by adding more layups, lob dunks and three-point shots to an already frenetic offense.

They're also preparing for more contact, or "duress," as Coach Phil Jackson politely called it.

Denver has accrued six technical fouls in two games, expanding upon the league-leading 54 it collected during the regular season.