Playoffs 2000:X factor: Shaq gives L.A. the lead, and a title

X factor: Shaq gives L.A. the lead, and a title
By Greg Collins
ESPN.com

LOS ANGELES -- After losing the lead on a fluke play at the end of the first quarter, it took 26 minutes, 58 seconds for the Lakers to get it back.


	O'Neal called it the ugliest 41 points in his life, but it all added up to to his first NBA title.

But when they did, the Lakers wouldn't let it go. And because of that, the Lakers franchise won its 12th NBA title with a 116-111 victory over Indiana in Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Monday at the Staples Center.

As basic as it sounds, wresting the lead from the Pacers was a monumental task. It was something the Lakers hadn't done in the two losses at Indiana, save for the opening seconds of Game 5. But an off-balance jump hook by Shaquille O'Neal put the Lakers on top with 9:02 left in the fourth quarter Monday.

O'Neal was hammered by Derrick McKey and fell into cameramen on the right side of the basket. The big man lay on the floor for a few anxious moments, but got up to a roar from the crowd.

Kobe Bryant knew O'Neal wouldn't stay down for long.

"This is a moment he's been waiting for his whole life," Bryant said.

O'Neal missed the free throw, but that wasn't important. He had given the lead back to the Lakers, who had lost it when Mark Jackson heaved in a 40-foot 3-pointer at the end of the first quarter.

After O'Neal's basket, the Lakers pushed the lead up to seven over the next three minutes. Two 3-pointers -- one by Rick Fox and one by Robert Horry -- and two dunks by O'Neal showed the Lakers had finally found the stuff to grasp hold of the game and not let go.

"We found a point in the game when they couldn't stop us," Phil Jackson said. "We got a few stops, broke free and got the momentum surge."

Fox admitted that it was one of the biggest shots of his life.

"I knew I'd make it so I just took it," said Fox, who hoisted the shot although Bryant was begging for the ball just a few feet away.

In the second and third quarters, the Pacers managed to fend off every L.A. run. Six times they had cut the Indiana lead to one possession, and six times the Pacers found the energy to pad the lead.

"We did an excellent job in the first three quarters," Indiana coach Larry Bird said. "We just couldn't get the stops we wanted."

The Pacers managed to tie the score at 103-103, but L.A. gave Indiana some of its own medicine with a 7-0 run.

"We got a couple of bad breaks down the stretch, and they hit some big shots," Indiana forward Dale Davis said. "We just didn't get the stops that we needed at crucial times in the game."

Indiana had managed to grab early leads in the last four games. The Pacers did it again in Game 6, building a 12-point lead halfway through the second quarter on hot shooting from 3-point territory. But eventually those shots stopped falling, somewhat predictably, and Indiana's offense slowed down.

After hitting 31 of 60 shots through the first three quarters -- after which Indiana held an 84-79 lead -- the offense cooled. The Pacers connected on just five of 17 shots in the final period, staying close thanks to 15-for-18 shooting at the free-throw line.

"What we wanted to do was get into the game quickly, which we did," Reggie Miller said. "We were measuring somewhat like a heavyweight fight, we wanted to win each quarter and count those as rounds. We won the first three rounds but lost the most important one, and that was the fourth round."

So, the building that housed a classic fight between Oscar De La Hoya and Shane Mosley on Saturday night hosted another epic clash Monday. But once the Lakers got the upper hand, the Pacers' hopes of a comeback to force Game 7 were knocked out.