The Los Angeles Lakers laid claim to their 15th title in impressive fashion on Sunday night as they defeated the Orlando Magic 99-86 to win Game 5 and win the best-of-seven series with a 4-1 advantage.

Kobe Bryant scored 30 points and Pau Gasol added 14 and 15 rebounds to pace the Lakers' attack.

Bryant, who averaged 32.4 points and was named finals MVP. It marked his fourth title and first without Shaquile O'Neal.

Meanwhile, head coach Phil Jackson earned his 10th championship, passing legendary Boston coach Red Auerbach (9 titles) as the winningest coach in finals history.

Not that they didn't already have a great place in the history of the game, but clearly Bryant and Jackson have taken even another step to seperate themselves from the pack.

Overall, the NBA Playoffs this year were exciting and fun to watch. A strong case could be made about the length of the playoffs, but you can not deny the fact that the level of competition gets no better.

NBA nba finals, nba playoffs, lakers, magic, kobe bryant, phil jackson