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Not this time Bibby's late jumper falls short as Lakers win Game 6Posted: Saturday June 01, 2002 1:25 AMUpdated: Saturday June 01, 2002 2:07 AM LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Mike Bibby's jumper was a dagger to the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 5. He wasn't sharp enough to cut a path into the NBA Finals on Friday night for the Sacramento Kings. Bibby ended up red-faced after taking an elbow from Kobe Bryant in the closing seconds of the Kings' 106-102 loss that allowed the two-time defending champion Lakers to even the Western Conference finals after six games. "I'm positive that we have a better chance," Kings center Vlade Divac said of the series finale. "We're a better team, that's all." Game 7 will be Sunday in Sacramento, where the Kings could advance to the Finals for the first time since 1951. But Bibby and his teammates will have to play better than they did Friday. "We're not going away Sunday," vowed Kings coach Rick Adelman. "We have to come back with resolve." Bibby's jumper with 8 seconds remaining gave the Kings a 92-91 victory Tuesday and a 3-2 series lead. This time, Bibby, whose star has risen in the first playoff appearance of his career, and the Kings struggled early, hitting just three of their first 14 shots. For the first time in the conference finals, the Kings shot less than 44 percent, and they were just 8-of-21 in the third quarter. Although the Kings used a 10-0 run to lead 56-51 at halftime, their big men got in foul trouble and Sacramento was forced to play catch-up in the game's final two minutes. "I feel sorry for our team because they did everything they could to win the game," Adelman said. "It's just a shame." Bibby had 10 points in the third quarter when the Kings tied the game at 75 heading into the final 12 minutes. But he had just four points in the final quarter. At one point, Bibby, Divac and Hedo Turkoglu were on the bench with the Lakers ahead by five points. "Hopefully, it's out of me now," Bibby said of his inconsistent play. Bibby and Chris Webber were no match for the Lakers' dynamic duo of Shaquille O'Neal and Bryant. Webber had 26 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists. Playing with a strained right triceps, Bibby had 23 points on 7-of-20 shooting. He was just 1-of-8 in the first half. O'Neal had 41 points and 17 rebounds and Bryant had 31 points and 11 rebounds. O'Neal was called for four fouls and Bryant three. The Kings were whistled for 31 fouls - seven more than the Lakers. Backup center Scot Pollard fouled out, then Divac fouled out in the final three minutes. "I knew before the game I'm going to be out," Divac said. "My turn. Shaq [fouled out] up there, I [fouled out] right here." Webber played with five fouls and Turkoglu had four. "Our big guys get 20 fouls and Shaq gets four. Obviously, they got the game called the way they wanted to get it called," Adelman said. "Our guys played their tail off and they still had a chance to win." Turkoglu scored inside to draw the Kings to 103-102 with 11.8 seconds left. That's when Bryant's right elbow collided with Bibby's nose. Bibby's head snapped back and he fell to the floor. He stayed in the game, after stuffing a tissue in his bloody nose "They said it wasn't broke, so I guess I'm OK," he said. "I just tried to deny the ball from him and that's how I got hit." The Kings were called for a foul on the play and Bryant made both free throws for a 105-102 lead. Bibby then missed with Bryant in his face and Robert Horry grabbed the rebound for the Lakers. After Horry hit a free throw, Doug Christie missed on Sacramento's final shot. "You can go, 'What if, what if,' all day if you want," said Bibby, who clearly wasn't interested in playing that game. "We can only control what we can do. We're not going to sit here and cry about the officials."
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