This time they were tested. This time it wasn’t easy. This time there were doubters, and an opponent that believed.
This time the Los Angeles Lakers were asked to prove they were champions, to show the heart and character of winners. They’d have to do it from behind, on the road, against all odds.
“We never give up,” Shaquille O’Neal said. “We’ve been through so much. We’ve been through the first round getting swept . . . Kobe [Bryant] shooting airballs, Dennis Rodman, Kurt Rambis, Del Harris. We’ve been through too much to let it slip away. Phil [Jackson] taught us that new focus and how to become champions.
“We stepped up these last two games.”
And stepped on the dreams of the Sacramento Kings in an exciting and memorable Western Conference finals series that no one was ready to see end. It would go one extra quarter, the first conference finals Game 7 to go into overtime, and it would be the two-time defending champions standing at the end with a thrilling 112-106 victory.
For the Lakers, O’Neal had 35 points (six in overtime), 13 rebounds and four blocked shots, hitting 11-of-15 free throws after 13-of-17 in the backs-to-the-wall Game 6 in Los Angeles on Friday. And Bryant added 30 points as all five Lakers starters scored in double figures for the first time in a series that featured game-winning shots by each team and a Lakers comeback from a three games-to-two deficit.
Mike Bibby led the Kings with 29 points, and Chris Webber had 20 but once again was hesitant to shoot down the stretch, scoring just six points after halftime.
“We had to squeeze everything out of this ballclub to win,” said Jackson, seeking his ninth championship as an NBA coach. “[Now] we are going for the one that counts.”
That’s the NBA Finals starting in Los Angeles on Wednesday against the New Jersey Nets.
“They’re a terrific team because they play a lot of team basketball,” Jackson said of the Nets. “We had two tough, rugged games against them. But we feel confident the winner of this conference is going to win the championship. And we still believe it.”
It was easy to believe after the memorable Game 7 in which the Lakers matched a brilliant stretch of play by Bibby at the end of regulation. Bibby scored 10 of the Kings’ last 12 points in regulation, and his layup with 3:24 left in overtime gave the Kings their last lead at 104-102.
But the Lakers’ best defensive sequence of the game, combined with the continued surprising free-throw shooting from O’Neal and timely contributions from Derek Fisher carried the Lakers down the stretch and to what they believe is the brink of a third consecutive title.
“I pulled the guys together (after Game 5),” O’Neal said. “I said, `We’ve got six games to get a ring. If we mess around one game, we go home. So let’s take care of these two and then focus on the next four.'”
The Lakers survived at home in a controversial Game 6 in which they shot 27 free throws in the fourth quarter to win 106-102. O’Neal had 41 points and 17 rebounds in that game, part one of a brilliant two-game performance to close out the toughest opponent the Lakers have faced in their title run.
“It was a fun battle,” said Bryant, who again shadowed Bibby at the end. “It was the most fun I’ve had playing against any individual all year. It was a heck of a series. They gave us a run for our money. [But] we came too far to give up.”
The Lakers won a Game 7 on the road for the first time in franchise history and became the first team to do it in a conference finals in 20 years.
O’Neal had a chance to win it in regulation, but he missed a jumper and the Lakers couldn’t convert the rebound. But they didn’t blink when Webber opened the overtime with a jumper and Bibby put them ahead with a layup.
“I thought we had a good chance to win this game,” Bibby said. “I think it will be a battle for years to come. It was still there for us to win at the end. We just didn’t do it.”
One of the reasons was 14 free throws missed by the Kings.
“They made theirs, we missed ours,” lamented Kings coach Rick Adelman, who bristled when it was suggested after the game the Lakers were the better team.
“Anyone could have won this series,” he said. “You can say they’re a better team. I won’t.”
But the Lakers proved themselves worthy champions against the odds of playing in the raucous Arco Arena and winning the last two games of the series.
“It shows our character, the ability to fight through adversity,” Bryant said. “They were playing better basketball than us. But we were able to hang in there and win the series. It was a gut check. To be tested like this, and respond like we have gives us a lot of confidence.”
It was the third straight season the Lakers eliminated the Kings from the playoffs.
For a while, it looked like the Kings would overthrow the kings of the NBA. After splitting the first two games at home, the Kings settled for a split in Los Angeles only after Robert Horry made a desperation three-pointer to win Game 4. Bibby hit the game-winner in Game 5 but couldn’t duplicate it in either of the last two games.
“We’ll be back in these latter stages of the playoffs in the future,” said a dejected Webber, who had 11 assists to go with his 20 points. “It was like two boxers going at it. We fought back but just didn’t get the win.”
Facing a nine-point deficit in the third quarter, the Lakers, behind their two stars and “supporting cast,” outworked the Kings. Rick Fox had 13 points and 14 rebounds, Horry 16 points and 12 rebounds, and Fisher had 13 points.
“We’re not going away,” said a defiant Adelman. “I’ll guarantee that. We’re not going away.”
And neither, apparently, are the champion Lakers.
