Lakers pick a good time to become defenders of their realm湖人選擇捍衛地位的時機恰到好處 A season full of alibis and a week full of accusations were forcefully squeezed into one night of two words.
這一晚，湖人用兩個字狠狠回擊了充斥了一個賽季的必敗證明和這一周的指責：
No way.
沒門。
No way were the Lakers going to give up their championship like this.
沒門。湖人絕不會就這樣丟掉他們的冠軍。
"Good energy, good effort," Pau Gasol said through beads of sweat.
“很好的能量，很棒的努力”，加索爾輕描淡寫的說道。
No way were they going to lose Game 5 of a tied first-round playoff series at Staples Center to a team of toddlers.
沒門。湖人絕不會在首輪跟這樣一隊毛孩子2-2戰平之后，在斯臺普斯丟掉第五場。
"We played extra hard," Gasol said through 25 points and 11 rebounds.
“我們打得非常賣力”，拿下25分11板的加索爾如此說道。
No way was their title defense going to end so early, so easily, so lamely.
沒門。湖人的衛冕旅途絕不會結束的這么早，這么容易，這么笨拙。
"We need more concentration, more effort, and we know that," Gasol said under freshly cut hair that mirrored his team's newly inspired performance.
帶著剛剪的新發型和同樣清新的球隊的新表現，枷鎖說，“我們需要更多的專注，更多的努力，而且我們清楚的明白這一點”。
You knew it, I knew it, and the bed sheet knew it, the giant white cloth setting the mandate Tuesday as it dropped from the Staples Center scoreboard before the Lakers' 111-87 whipping of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
沒錯。這你知，我知，甚至連湖人主場的幕布都知。當那副巨大的白色幕布從斯臺普斯記分牌前落下的時候，那上面寫著111-87，湖人狂掃俄克拉荷馬雷霆。
"It's time to defend," read the sheet.
幕布上寫著，“現在是防守（保衛）時刻”。
Defend their honor, defend their reputation and, while they're all it, defend Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.
保衛他們的榮譽，保衛他們的衛冕，防死凱文杜蘭特和威斯布魯克。
The Lakers did all of that, pushing and shoving and playmaking their way to their most impressive win of any kind in more than a month, turning this series against the young Thunder on its wet-behind-the-ears.
湖人做到了所有的一切，努力，奮斗，用他們自己的方式貢獻了一個月來最令人印象深刻的勝利。他們把這個系列賽的壓力重新推給還乳臭未干的年輕雷霆。
Instead of going to Oklahoma City on Friday on the verge of elimination, the Lakers travel on the precipice of relief, holding a three-games-to-two lead with a potential Game 7 at home tucked safely in their pocket.
拒絕周五到俄克拉荷馬戰戰兢兢，湖人手握3-2的優勢，帶著堅定的信念，帶著即使第7戰也能在主場打的安全牌，穩穩上路。
Instead of worrying about a summer implosion, the Lakers can now think about a spring fling, as other blundering high seeds in the Western Conference playoffs offer evidence that perhaps the Thunder is the second-best team out there.
湖人現在可以好好考慮在春天就爆發而不是擔心到夏天沒有迸發的能量。畢竟西部其他的高位種子球隊正在證明，或許雷霆還算得上是第二好的球隊。
Does anybody else think that if the Lakers survive this series, they are probably going to survive the next month and end up in the Finals? It sure looks that way from here. It sure looked that way Tuesday night, which was such a foregone conclusion, Lakers Coach Phil Jackson was even laughing about it a couple of hours earlier.
有沒有人認為只要湖人拿下這個系列賽就很有可能繼續走完下個月的旅程然后直到總決賽？事情的確還差得遠。但周二晚上，所有的一切讓這樣美好的未來看上去順理成章。湖人教練菲爾幾小時前甚至笑出了聲音。
"I feel very good about the game," Jackson said with a huge smile, relaxed and joking during a pregame news conference that most thought would be terse and tense.
“我對這場比賽感覺非常好”，菲爾帶著滿滿的微笑回答，他在一貫緊張的賽前新聞發布會上輕松的開著玩笑。
It was as if, like everyone else here, he knew.
就好像和其他所有人一樣，菲爾胸有成竹（湖人前景一片大好）
It was as if Jackson knew that the Lakers defense would hold the Thunder to 37% shooting, force 16 turnovers, outscore Oklahoma City 58-26 in the paint, finally take advantage of their size and their slugging percentage.
就好像菲爾早就知道湖人的防守會把雷霆壓迫的只有37%的命中率，失誤16次，內線得分58-26壓倒性優勢，并能最終用自己的身高優勢和重扣砸暈對手。
It was as if Jackson knew that it would start by ordering Kobe Bryant to guard Westbrook, bringing out Bryant's old physicality and inspiring everyone.
就好像菲爾早就知道比賽會由科比狠防維斯布魯克開始，他知道科比最原始的強硬本性會被激發出來并最終鼓舞全隊。
That's what happened first here, Bryant shoving Westbrook on the game's first inbounds play and essentially mauling him throughout the first quarter, climbing into the kid's head and rendering him useless.
這是比賽一開始場景，第一個邊線球科比就狠狠的壓迫威斯布魯克，整個第一屆，科比都幾乎像只猛獸一樣狠狠的撕咬擺弄小威。他幾乎要騎到那小孩的頭上，把他防得毫無作為。
It was no coincidence that the game essentially ended midway through the third quarter when Westbrook streaked to the basket for an apparent fastbreak dunk, yet was so spooked by a chasing Bryant that he spun around and threw the ball back to . . . Derek Fisher . . . who worked it back downcourt to Andrew Bynum for a dunk and a 29-point lead.
于是終結比賽懸念的一幕就絕非偶然，維斯布魯克快速推進到籃筐，很明顯的想要完成一記快攻扣籃，但他被一個氣勢洶洶追來的科比布萊恩特嚇了個半死，然后把球扔給了……費舍爾……老魚就這么輕輕松松的長傳給安豬來了一記扣籃，比賽分差拉大到29分。
Westbrook missed nine of 13 shots and shakily blew three free throws. Durant missed nine of 14 shots and had as many turnovers as rebounds or assists.
維斯布魯克13投投失9個，還嚇得扔飛了3個罰籃。杜蘭特14投投丟9個，他的失誤跟助攻、籃板一樣多。
After spending three of the first four games going nowhere, Bryant was everywhere, driving on a bad knee, creating with that bad finger, making everyone forget the poor shooting and pouting last weekend in Oklahoma City.
在前四場中的三場都玩消失之后，這場的科比布萊恩特無所不在，帶著一條受傷的膝蓋運球，帶著受傷的手指創造機會，他讓所有人都忘記了上個周末在俄克拉荷馬城他糟糕的命中率和表現。
"Kobe had an impact on the game — it doesn't show it on the stat sheet, but he set the tone," Thunder Coach Scott Brooks said, referring to Bryant's 13 points and seven assists. "Him guarding Westbrook, that threw us off a little bit.''
“科比對整場比賽有至關重要的影響——這是在技術統計表上顯現不出來的。他為整場比賽設定了基調”，雷霆教練斯科特布魯克斯在提到科比的13分7助攻時如此說道。“他防守維斯布魯克，這一點讓我們有點措手不及。”
It was as if Jackson knew that Bryant and his mates would ravage the Thunder, and the officials would let them. While Oklahoma City was missing its first nine field-goal attempts, the Lakers were knocking the Thunder players from Jack Nicholson to the Laker girls, throwing them around with rarely a whistle.
就好像菲爾早就知道科比和他的隊友們會狠狠的蹂躪雷霆，而裁判會放任這一點。當俄克拉荷馬已經投丟了所有前9次投籃，從尼科爾森到湖人女郎都開始痛擊、戲耍雷霆隊員的時候，四周安靜的沒有任何唱反調的哨音響起。
This sort of refereeing always seems to happen in important Lakers playoff games, the crowd being loud, the atmosphere being Hollywood-heavy and the officials only being human.
這種裁判吹罰似乎總在重要的湖人季后賽中發生，人群變得吵鬧，好萊塢的氣氛變成如此龐大的壓力，而裁判不過凡人而已。
It was as if Jackson also knew that others besides Bryant and Gasol would rise to what could have been a scary occasion.
就好像菲爾還知道除了科比，枷鎖也會站出來成為令人生畏的統治者。
This was about Bynum earning a standing ovation by standing through eight baskets in 10 shots, a playoff career-high 21 points and 11 rebounds. This was about Lamar Odom actually showing up long enough to grab eight rebounds with four assists.
還有，拜納姆用10投8中，職業生涯季后賽最高的21分11板贏得全場起立鼓掌；還有奧多姆用短短的上場時間拿下8個籃板4次助攻。
In the end, this was about Hugh Hefner smooching with two women on the scoreboard kiss cam, then ping his fists like he was, well, Hugh Hefner.
最后，還有休 海夫那（《花花公子》創始人，以私生活風流聞名）在記分牌的接吻攝像頭里跟兩個女生接吻，然后揮舞拳頭，就像他好像是，well，休海夫那。
The Lakers, for a moment anyway, were the Lakers. On this night, there was no way they could be anything else.
