Pau Gasol‘s 21 points, 18 rebounds, and 3 blocks led the Lakers in a blowout series-clinching win over the Houston Rockets Sunday afternoon.

His 21 points led all Laker scorers, including Kobe Bryant, whom scored a series low 14 points after averaging 29.7 points in the first six games.

The Lakers took a huge lead in the first quarter and never looked back.  They soundly defeated the Rockets in game seven 89-70.

But it wasn’t just Gasol’s offense that was key to L.A.’s success, but his spectacular defense helped to limit Luis Scola to 4-12 shooting and 11 points.

The 7-0 Spaniard, whom was recently named to the all-NBA third team, was active and physical on both ends; emotional and disruptive.

“(Pau is) really is totally different than what people think he is. He’s a killer.” teammate Trevor Ariza said.

For the series, Gasol averaged 18.7 points, 12 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 2 blocks.  Gasol also notched five double-doubles in the series.

Houston missed their first twelve shots to start the game and never recovered as the Lakers slowly but surely built their lead throughout the remainder of the game.  Aaron Brooks scored only 13 points and missed many shots that he made in Houston’s three wins.

The Lakers will play the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals on Tuesday.

Links and Resources: Dirk Nowitzki, Yao Ming, Pau Gasol selected to All-NBA Teams (Interbasket), Pau Gasol’s Fave 5 Players to Watch (Interbasket)