LOS ANGELES -- Finally, it seemed, the giant was awakened. Finally, Kobe Bryant was finding his stroke, Lindsey Hunter was making a rare impact and the Lakers were scoring 14 straight points in 53 seconds and were ready for yet another improbable comeback.

The Kings, however, would sputter, but they would not collapse. The Kings would turn the ball over on four straight possessions, but they would recover. The Kings would endure the Lakers' run and, having taken a 27-point lead, still have a double-digit lead.

On a night when many assumed the mighty Lakers would seize control of the series on the way to their third straight NBA title, it was the Kings who came away with a convincing 103-90 victory to take a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference finals Friday.

Outside of losing Game 1 to the Sixers in last year's NBA Finals, this is the first time the Lakers have trailed in a playoff series in the past two years. Outside of their seven-game war against the Blazers during the 2000 Western Conference finals, this is the first time the Lakers have been severely tested.

Who knows? Maybe the Lakers respond with a big win on Sunday, go on to cruise through the rest of the playoffs and look at Friday's game as just a blip on their way to a three-peat. Or maybe the loss was a sign that the Kings have learned from being eliminated by the Lakers the last two seasons.

"We felt we could come in here and win a game" Kings coach Rick Adelman said. "We're just mentally different than we were two years ago, and than we were last year."

Thus, the biggest difference with the Kings this season: They are not just happy to be a part of the playoff ride. They've gone from being happy to play tough for five games in the first round, to being ecstatic to advancing, to maintaining an intense hunger in making it to the conference finals for the first time since the team moved to Sacramento.

"It's a big night for our fans, for our Kings supporters," Chris Webber said of the significance of taking a lead in the series. "But we really can't think of that now. We want to take it a little bit further."

The Kings played like that early.

Sensing the Lakers' tentative start, the Kings reacted like a champion and feasted. Kobe Bryant missed six of his seven first-half shots, but at least he had a reason: Bryant had not completed a practice this week after getting sick prior to Monday's game in Sacramento. Rick Fox (1-for-7 shooting in the first half) and Derek Fisher (four first-half points) had no such excuses.

Meanwhile, the Kings had three guys in double figures by the half. Webber was hitting his jump shots, Mike Bibby was getting to the basket, and Hedo Turkoglu was making shots and playing with the confidence he lacked in Game 1, when he missed all eight of his attempts from the field.

It's what Webber has preached all season, and he reiterated Friday night: The Kings are dangerous because, even with Peja Stojakovic out, they have multiple offensive weapons.

"One person's not going to beat the Lakers," Webber said. "If you have one guy trying to beat two, it's not going to happen."

And if you're the Lakers and you're two main guys aren't having the best of games -- with no one else capable of picking up the slack -- it's going to happen. Outside of Hunter coming off the bench to hit six of 11 shots in 22 minutes, no one else made over half his shots as the Lakers shot just 35.6 percent from the field.

The Lakers did make it interesting in the fourth quarter, when, after falling behind by 27, they used full-court pressure defense to score 14 straight points -- with Bryant leading the way with two 3-pointers in the run.

But just when it appeared the Kings were heading for an ugly collapse, Webber hit a jumper with 4:30 left that halted the momentum swing. Taking their time against the Lakers' overplaying defense, the Kings became patient down the stretch, resulting in easy scores.

"We got a little bit tentative," Adelman said. "But sooner or later our team has to settle down. It looked a lot worse than it was."

The final stat line tells the story: Six of the seven Sacramento players who got court time scored in double figures, and while Scot Pollard didn't score he gave the Kings seven quality minutes against Shaquille O'Neal. The penetration ability of Mike Bibby and Bobby Jackson continues to be a challenge for Los Angeles.

And for the Lakers: Shaq had 20 points, but just five in the second half. Kobe had 22 points, but just four through the first three quarters. Three guys the Lakers look on to contribute, Fox, Fisher and Samaki Walker, were a combined 3-for-15 shooting for eight points in 54 total minutes.

"It's just one of those days," O'Neal said. "We didn't play well, and the other team played better."

It's amazing how things can change over the course of several weeks. It's amazing the cockiness that Bryant displayed after a Game 2 loss at home to San Antonio was absent after Friday's defeat. It's amazing how the fringe players for the Lakers who had so much to say at the start of the series have so little to say now.

It's all because the Lakers realize they are in a fierce battle. It's because the Lakers are facing a team that no longer fears them. It's because the Kings feel they are a championship-caliber team. And during the course of showing that, they are making the Lakers feel their presence.

"Sacramento's a great team," Bryant said. "We have to answer their challenge and it's going to be fun."

Jerry Bembry is general editor (NBA) at ESPN The Magazine. He can be reached at Jerry.Bembry@espnpub.com.