LOS ANGELES -- They celebrated as if they had won a championship. They hugged on the court after Mike Bibby's game-winning shot, soaking in the roar of the crowd. They maneuvered through the corridors of Arco Arena and were greeted like royalty, with owner Gavin Maloof -- his dress shirt drenched in sweat -- offering to anyone within earshot that this may, indeed, be the best playoff series ever.

	Mike Bibby and the Kings can't celebrate quite just yet.

It's nice having the upper hand on the two-time defending NBA champs, three games to two. It's nice being on the verge of reaching the NBA Finals. But unless the Kings reach the NBA Finals, that tremendous moment made possible by Bibby's clutch shot will be meaningless.

And easily forgotten.

"We still have a lot of work to do," said Kings forward Chris Webber. "We want to take care of business (tonight)."

The task will not be easy, not against a Lakers team that has two of the best players in the NBA. Facing their first elimination game since Game 7 of the 2000 Western Conference finals, the Lakers are confident that they will take care of business tonight to force a Game 7 on Sunday in Sacramento.

"Everybody's fine," said Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, who missed a potential game-winning shot on Tuesday. "Everybody's spirits are high"

Added Shaquille O'Neal: "This is the position we want to be in. We're not feeling any pressure. We have to win two games, move on, start all over."

To win, the Lakers will have to get a full game from O'Neal, who fouled out in the fourth quarter of Game 5. O'Neal had perhaps his best quarter of the playoffs, positioning himself directly under the basket while scoring 16 points (hitting eight of nine shots). Shaq felt he got hammered during that stretch and spent the last three days criticizing the officials.

A big question for the Lakers: How much time will they use Bryant defensively on Bibby. Lakers coach Phil Jackson took a lot of heat for not making that move in the closing seconds, allowing Derek Fisher to defend Bibby on the game-winning shot. But if Bryant defends Bibby the entire game, he leaves himself open to foul trouble, as well as having his offensive game suffer at a time where the Lakers need him most.

"If they want me to defend him for 48 minutes," Bryant said. "I'll play him for 48 minutes."

The Kings own the luxury of having a potential Game 7 on their home floor. But they can't approach tonight's game thinking about a cushion, not against a Lakers team that is just one win away from having momentum swing back to their favor.

	“	We don't want to think about a seventh game. We have to give ourselves a chance (tonight). Sure it would be nice (to win at home) for Arco and the fans, but we can see them later on. ”
		— Rick Adelman

"We don't want to think about a seventh game. We have to give ourselves a chance (tonight)," Kings coach Rick Adelman said. "Sure it would be nice (to win at home) for Arco and the fans, but we can see them later on."

If the Lakers are tense about their predicament, they are not showing it. In fact, the Lakers have assumed a quiet confidence as they face their first elimination game since beating Portland in Game 7 of the West finals two years ago.

"I think we're going to embrace it, having to win two in a row," Bryant said. "We're capable of doing that. I think that's what we're going to do."

"They're playing at a high level," Bryant added about the Kings. "They're playing pretty good, but they can be beat."

The last time the Lakers lost a playoff series was the second round of the 1998-99 playoffs when they were swept by the San Antonio Spurs. Since then, they've become the most dominant team in basketball. Shaq is the game's best big man, Kobe is the best perimeter player and many consider Phil Jackson the best coach.

How good is this team facing in what Bryant describes as "two Game 7s"?

We get to see, starting tonight.

"Each championship we get is going to be done a different way," Shaq said. "Some easier. Some harder. This is what we live and die for. We know it's going to be fun on Friday and fun on Sunday."

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