This article originally appeared on May 30, 2009

The Los Angeles Lakers took control of the action early, and made all of the right plays late to defeat the Denver Nuggets 119-92 in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals.

The win sends them to the NBA Finals for the second straight year.

"Well, we saved our best game for last," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "Tonight was a game where we played at the highest level, shooting the ball well from all spots on the floor. This is the team we've seen most of the year."

L.A.'s gameplan was obvious from the onset as they went to Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum on their first four offensive possessions.

Gasol scored on a jump hook from the right block on the Lakers' second trip down the court, and ended the quarter with just two points and two assists on 1-for-2 shooting, but his impact went far beyond the box score. He had eight touches in the first period, which opened up the floor and created the spacing that the triangle offense is predicated upon.

With their inside game established, the Lakers went to Kobe Bryant in the second quarter. Defended by J.R. Smith and isolated on the wings for most of the quarter, Bryant erupted for 11 points and added four assists to stretch his team's lead to 13 at the half.

"When Kobe carried us in at the half with that burst of points at the end, it really set the tone for the night," Jackson said. "He exploited that lead from six to 13. And we were able to go in the second half and kind of feed off of that."

Trevor Ariza was the recipient of several smart ball reversals from Bryant and Gasol, and connected on five of his first six shot attempts, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. The Lakers shot 60% as a team, while forcing Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups into a combined 4-for-15 from the field by shifting their defense, denying penetration, and contesting shots at the rim.

The second half featured more of the same as Bryant and Gasol continued to attack the Nuggets on the inside.

"We never got control of their post-ups," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "When we doubled it, they scored the three or the two. And when we didn't double it, they scored on the post-up."

For reasons unbeknownst to me, Karl elected to defend Bryant with J.R. Smith for most of the second half, and all of the fourth quarter, despite the fact that Carmelo Anthony had been far more effective on the Lakers' superstar through the first five games of the series. Anthony finished the game with just one personal foul.

Bryant and Lamar Odom combined for 21 of L.A.'s 36 points in the fourth quarter.

Bryant finished with a game-high 35 points on 12-for-20 shooting, while adding 10 assists and 6 rebounds. Gasol scored 20 points on 8-for-12 shooting and corralled a game-high 12 rebounds. The Lakers shot 57.3 percent from the field, 56.3 percent from the three-point line, 100 percent (24-24) from the free throw line, and assisted on 28 of their 48 field goals. Five Lakers scored in double-figures.

It was an impressive performance from a team that struggled with effort and execution through the first three rounds of the playoffs. The Lakers spaced the floor, controlled the defensive glass, denied middle penetration, and as a result, proved how dominant they can be when they're firing on all cylinders.

Give the Nuggets credit though. They fought the Lakers tooth and nail through fives games and will be a force to be reckoned with next season.

"I've coached a long time, and this had been a pretty special season for me as a coach," Karl said. "And I couldn't have asked more from almost every guy in that locker room. I think every player on our team is a better basketball player than they were in November."

"We gained valuable experience, went through a roller coaster of emotions," Bryant said. "You win one, lose one at home, then dealing with that day, the travel, and then to come up in a hostile environment and try to win Game 3. Those are the things that make you tougher."

Up next is a meeting with the Cleveland Cavaliers or Orlando Magic, and a shot at redemption.

"Losing to Boston was a huge disappointment," Jackson said of last year's Finals. "So we have to go back there knowing what a disappointment it was over the summer to live with that and saying we're going to go back there and do this regardless, we're going to get this done."

Brandon Hoffman is a contributing writer for RealGM and the founder of BallerBlogger.com. Questions or comments can be sent to ballerblogger@yahoo.com. You can also follow Brandon on twitter.