Kobe Bryant scored a game high 39 points, three times more than any other of his teammates, for the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night, leading his team to the National Basketball Association finals for the first time since 2004 with a 100-92 victory over the defending champion San Antonio Spurs.

The Lakers succeeded to claim the Western Conference title by defeating the Spurs in five games and is now waiting to face the winner of the Boston-Detroit series. Boston has a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference and now has to win over the Detroit Pistons on Friday evening.

It was the second time in the series that San Antonio had a big lead on the Lakers' home court, but only to have Bryant ignite a comeback. San Antonio blew a 20-point, third-quarter advantage in Game 1 and led by 17 in the second period on Thursday.

Bryant nailed 26 of his points in the second period, as the LA Lakers overturned a 17-point second-quarter deficit at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

The Lakers finished the first half with a six point advantage and took the lead until the end of the game as Luke Walton hit a three-pointer with less than ten minutes to go until the buzzer.

With 4:35 minutes left in the fourth period, San Antonio was still within two, but the Lakers did not allow them to get any closer.

The Spurs were led by Parker, who scored 23 points and Tim Duncan with his 19 points.