The Los Angeles Lakers have taken a 2-1 series lead over the Nuggets in the Western Conference finals after winning game 3 103-97 on Saturday night in Denver.

“I rank this right up there with some of the biggest road wins we’ve had since I’ve been a Laker,” Kobe Bryant said. “Because, in the past we always had guys that had a lot of experience. Robert Horry, Rick Fox, Ron Harper, they’ve all been through this before. For our guys this is brand new.”

Bryant scored 41 points in the victory while Pau Gasol added 20 points of his own and 11 rebounds.

“I think Gasol was the key to them winning tonight,” Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony said after the game. “Getting him going and him making shots, it made it hard to double-team him and still try to guard Kobe out there.”