Playoffs 2000:X factor: Shaq leaves, Lakers get started

X factor: Shaq leaves, Lakers get started
By Greg Collins
ESPN.com

INDIANAPOLIS -- You'd think that having the league MVP foul out when you held a three-point lead in overtime of the pivotal game of the NBA Finals would be a bad thing.


	Kobe Bryant took over the L.A. offense after Shaq fouled out.

But that would be painting the Lakers into a corner of conventional thinking, something no Phil Jackson-coached team allows.

Shaquille O'Neal was dominant with 36 points and 21 rebounds, but this was not the type of game where his brute strength -- and unpredictable free throws -- would be the necessary traits to push the Lakers to victory.

O'Neal has no peer on the Pacers, so a game of top-me-if-you-can just can't be played with Shaq. Kobe Bryant, on the other hand, was the perfect fit for when the Lakers needed a basket every time down the court.

From the moment the Lakers first took the lead at 62-60 with 7 minutes, 59 seconds left in the third quarter to the final horn of Los Angeles' 120-118 overtime victory in Wednesday's Game 4, neither team led by more than five points.

Shaq had his share of points during that stretch, but it was Bryant -- showing no ill effects from the sprained ankle which kept him in the trainer's room for L.A.'s Game 3 loss -- who scored the big baskets.

And no bigger plays were needed than in overtime. When O'Neal fouled out with 2:33 left and the Lakers up 112-109, he said Bryant winked at him and said, "Don't worry about it."

Bryant's own thoughts weren't as confident.

"When Shaq went out, my thought was this game just became a lot more interesting," Bryant said.

But Derek Fisher saw in Bryant's eyes the determination shown by the game's best players when they decide to take a game on their shoulders.

"There's no question Phil was supportive of that," Fisher said. "And we were in agreement that he could take the game over."

Bryant went on to hit three of his last four shots, with each of the made baskets coming after Indiana had cut the Lakers' lead to one point. The final two of his 28 points came on an offensive putback after Indiana's defense had denied him the ball during the Lakers' final possession.

"He's the hero of this game," O'Neal said.

The Kobe-less version of the Lakers are a stand-around lot, waiting for the right angle on the entry pass to O'Neal. That formula led to their 100-91 loss in Game 3. With Bryant, they suddenly have an element of unpredictability even though the system is still following Tex Winter's triangle offense.

"In terms of what we're supposed to do, it doesn't change," Fisher said of the Lakers offense when O'Neal is out of the game. "We don't throw the ball inside as much; we start to play around the plate. That opens up some penetration for some guys and allows them to search for their own offense."

It didn't take long for Bryant to find his. Even with O'Neal in the game, Bryant had stretches where he decided that he would be the offense. Jackson said he thought Bryant started the game a little tentative because of the ankle, wincing in pain a few times.

"(Bryant) found a controlled level he could play at," Jackson said. "He just grew confident as the game went on."

Bryant said he made an effort to pace himself, knowing that the game wasn't going to be won in the first quarter. So he started slow, missing three of four shots in the first quarter. By halftime, he had hit three of seven shots for six points, along with four assists.

The third quarter was when Bryant grew more comfortable, nailing silky-smooth pull-up jumpers for 10 points. The 8-for-18 shooting through three quarters suggested he still hadn't found his groove.

Over the final 12 minutes of regulation and five minutes of overtime, Bryant stroked six of nine shots. Most were mid-range jumpers, as Bryant finished with no attempts from the free-throw line nor any 3-point shots. But that didn't keep him from finishing 14-for-27 from the floor -- two more shots than O'Neal took.

"Maybe we should have done something to get the ball out of (Kobe's) hands," Indiana point guard Travis Best said.

But no matter what Indiana tried, it didn't work. Even when the Pacers successfully kept the ball away from Bryant on the Lakers' last possession, he ended up beating them on the offensive glass. And if you believe Bryant, destiny might have had a hand in the outcome.

"This is the game I've been dreaming about," Bryant said, although he added that in his dream, his game-winning shot came from the top of the key.

We won't bother asking if Shaq was on the bench at the time.