“Kobe is better than LeBron because Kobe is clutch.”

The above is what can best be described as “The Narrative.”  Kobe Bryant is clutch. He makes big shots when it matters most. LeBron James, as seen Tuesday night, passes first, second, third, and fourth. He doesn’t want to take the big shot. Kobe revels in the moment.

So, last night, with the Lakers up by 7 with 2 minutes to play, it was important to note, as an observer, that Kobe Bryant wasn’t clutch. At all. Kobe was held without a made shot for the final six minutes of the Lakers’ game against the Thunder. Two missed shots by Kobe. Two Lakers turnovers. And all of a sudden, a 7 point deficit for OKC becomes a 2 point lead.

On the final play of the game, Ron Metta World Artest Peace tried to get the ball to Kobe Bryant. Except Kobe couldn’t get himself free. And so the final shot of the game was taken by future NBA Hall-of-Famer Steve Blake, who dutifully missed a corner 3. OKC 2. LAL 0.

Oh, and about that clutch thing?  Kobe hasn’t hit a game-winning shot in the playoffs, inside of 20 seconds to play, in 6 years. 2006 against the Suns.

Also, the Boston Celtics beat the 76ers by 16 points. As they should have. Celtics lead 2-1.

The New York Rangers could not unclog the space in front of goalie Henrik Lundqvist last night, and thus fell to the New Jersey Devils 3-2, in a game filled with pucks bouncing crazily off of people standing in front of the net.

The series (tied at 1-1) will now shift all the way across the Hudson River to Newark for Game 3 tomorrow. The Rangers set out last night, bindles in tow, and began the long 3 hour walk and ferry ride between the two arenas.  Some Rangers players, not wanting to take the walk, used the beautiful and clean public transportation options in the New York/New Jersey area ((MTA! PATH!)  to journey across the river. Thankfully, no players have been diagnosed with dysentery, to this point, on their journey.

Bryce Harper was not able to hit a HR in his third consecutive game, however, the young star did deliver a first inning triple, jumpstarting the Nationals offense en route to a 7-4 victory.

In a save situation, manager Davey Johnson went back to Henry Rodriguez, following two consecutive disastrous appearances. In a much cleaner fashion than he has recently done, Henry closed out the game for his 9^thsave of the season.

With the Braves loss to Miami, Washington jumped back into first place in the NL East. They’ll wrap up their two-game set with the Pirates tonight with a very good pitching matchup. Jordan Zimmermann will look to build off of a great start against Cincinnati on Saturday. He’ll be opposed by the surging James McDonald, who appears to be reaching his potential as a solid #2 starter. Game time is 7:05 p.m.

Of course, there are playoff games tonight. Lineup here:

Heat @ Pacers (Series tied 1-1): 7:00 p.m./TNT

Clippers @ Spurs (SAS leads 1-0): 9:30 p.m./TNT

Coyotes @ Kings (LAK leads 2-0): 9:00 p.m./NBC Sports Network

Also, a (potentially) very good baseball game:

St. Louis Cardinals @ San Francisco Giants (3:45 p.m.). Adam Wainwright opposes Matt Cain