|
 |   |
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Multimedia Central Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities Work in Sports
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE |  |
One away Lakers on verge of first title since 1988
Posted: Thursday June 15, 2000 01:34 AM
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Robert Horry was nearly a goat, turning the ball over in the final seconds of the fourth quarter Wednesday night in Game 4 of the NBA Finals. He got a reprieve, and turned out to be one of the Los Angeles Lakers' heroes as they moved within one victory of their first championship in 12 years, the final days of Showtime. Horry scored the first four points of overtime to put the Lakers ahead for good in a 120-118 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night, giving them a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. The Pacers had a chance to win the game on Reggie Miller's last-gasp 3-pointer, but Horry got a slight piece of the ball, which wound up bouncing off the rim. And perhaps with it Indiana's chances at winning a championship. "We've got a golden opportunity, we've got three chances to win once," Horry said. "I'm just happy to be in this situation, I like our chances." And he should. No team has ever come back from a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals. Should the Lakers win Friday night at Conseco Fieldhouse or once in two potential games at Staples Center next week, Horry would pick up his third championship ring. He played for the champion Houston Rockets in 1993-94 and 1994-95. Horry shrugged off the turnover, which occurred with 17.4 seconds left and the game tied 104-all. His errant pass was intended for Glen Rice but went out of bounds under the Lakers' basket. "I was hoping we were going to get a foul on that," said Horry, who had 17 points and six rebounds to support stars Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant. "They pulled him, it went out of bounds. That's just a part of the game. It was no big deal; you turn it over, you turn it over. "I was smiling the whole game, I felt good. Whatever happens, happens." Following the turnover, Indiana's Travis Best threw up an air ball, and after O'Neal's desperation hook at the buzzer missed, the teams went to overtime. "He did the thing nobody should try to do -- shoot over Shaq," Horry said of Best. The Lakers won despite the fact that O'Neal fouled out with 2:33 left in overtime. O'Neal had 36 points and 21 rebounds and Bryant, obviously showing no ill effects of the sprained left ankle that kept him out of Game 3, scored 22 of his 28 points after halftime and played 47 minutes. Bryant's follow shot with 5.9 seconds left were the final Los Angeles points, giving him eight in the overtime and putting the Lakers ahead 120-117. After Rick Fox fouled Jalen Rose before the ball was inbounded, Miller made a foul shot and the Pacers kept possession. With a little help from Horry, Miller then missed the shot that could have tied the Finals 2-2. "When he popped out, I just ran out there," Horry said. "I got a piece of it, not enough to stop the flight. We were very fortunate it didn't go in." Said Miller: "Robert Horry was running at me. I had to shoot it higher, over his hands. It was right on target, it was just short." With the sellout crowd of 18,345 chanting "Beat L.A., Beat L.A.," the Pacers went on a 12-2 run early in the fourth quarter to go ahead 89-84. But the Lakers would battle back. Bryant got off to a slow start, getting two points, two assists and two turnovers in the first quarter. He picked up his fourth foul just 1:03 into the third quarter, but played on and, in the end, brilliantly. "Robert Horry was very good for us tonight, but Kobe smelled it at the end of the game, his opportunity when Shaq was out, and lifted us," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "They have to beat us three in a row to win. That's what the situation really says right now." The Lakers, an NBA-best 67-15 during the regular season, haven't lost three straight since being eliminated by San Antonio in the second round of last year's playoffs.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
