With an efficient 39 points from Carmelo Anthony, it looked like the Nuggets might pull the upset in Game 1, but a key steal by Trevor Ariza and some clutch play from Kobe Bryant sealed the Laker win, 105-103.

The Lakers struggled early on, and with Anthony scoring 16 points in the first quarter, the Nuggets led by eight after the first period. As the game wore on, it became clear that the Nuggets are simply tougher than the Lakers. Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Kenyon Martin, Nene, Chris Andersen, Anthony Carter, and even Dahntay Jones — they’re all tough players, both mentally and physically. How many Lakers fit that description? Kobe? Yep. Derek Fisher? Yep. Anyone else? Not really.

But Kobe is a closer. He had 18 points in the fourth quarter, 40 on the game. He literally carried the Lakers offensively. And he did a great job on Billups for most of the game before having to switch to Anthony to try to slow him down. I was really impressed with how Kobe and Melo battled throughout the game. Anthony really stepped up on the glass and defensively, even though Bryant went off in the final quarter.

The Nuggets made a few mental errors down the stretch. Carter’s bad pass led to the Ariza steal, and K-Mart had a bad, bad foul on Kobe Bryant when the game was tied with 0:30 to play. The questions about the Nuggets remain — do they know how to win in the clutch?

This looks like it’s going to be a great series.