Bryant is, as always, the difference maker

SAN ANTONIO -- Yes, it was a foul. No, it didn't matter.

Let's get this straight once and for all, before anyone goes into the summer thinking that Tuesday's clock-mangling, late-wilting Lakers were also lucky.

They weren't. The blown call on the final play of the 93-91 Lakers victory over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals simply evened out the blown call of a few seconds earlier.

Yes, Derek Fisher clearly fouled Brent Barry before his final three-point attempt.

No, it didn't matter because the Spurs shouldn't have even been in that position, the officials failing to recognize that Fisher's previous jumper with 6.9 seconds left hit the rim, failing to give the Lakers a fresh shot clock.

That forced the Lakers to take a quick jumper that clanged away, giving the Spurs their last chance.

Understand? Two bad calls equals no bad calls. The difference in this game wasn't in Barry's 24-foot jumper or in the 24-second shot clock.

The difference was in No. 24, period.

Yeah, the guy who missed that quick jumper, the guy who missed a wild layup a few seconds earlier, the guy who was actually scolded by Phil Jackson for being too aggressive.

Nobody is talking about it. Nobody was thinking about it. Even the man himself seemed surprised to be asked about it.

But look closer and see that a night when he missed more than half his shots was yet another testament to the greatness of Kobe Bryant.

"C'mon," said Lamar Odom, laughing. "You don't even have to ask about that."

On nights like Tuesday, when Lakers hustle and depth and balance steal the headlines, Bryant is often taken for granted.

But it is nights like Tuesday when Bryant is often most effective.

No, he didn't win the game in the end. He won it in the second quarter, and third quarter, and fourth quarter, again and again and again.

By my count, from late in the second quarter until the final frantic clock, Bryant made eight plays that either broke a tie or stole momentum.

In a game the Lakers never trailed, Bryant's brilliance kept it that way.

In a game that the Spurs continually pushed the Lakers to the brink, Bryant was always the Laker who pushed back.

And in a game when he did not shoot one free throw -- 29 shots with guys hanging all over him and he doesn't shoot one free throw? -- it was Bryant's cool that led to the Lakers cool.