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Verge of greatness Lakers one win away from a three-peatPosted: Sunday June 09, 2002 11:45 PMUpdated: Monday June 10, 2002 5:41 AM
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- Robert Horry has played this act before. For Devean George, it was something new. Horry hit the go-ahead basket and George played a major role down the stretch Sunday night as the Los Angeles Lakers rallied for a 106-103 victory over New Jersey for a 3-0 lead in the NBA Finals. The Lakers got 36 points from Kobe Bryant and 35 from Shaquille O'Neal, but had to tighten their defense and get other contributions to rally from a seven-point deficit in the fourth quarter. "They made their run and we made our run," said Horry, who has hit some big 3-pointers late in playoff games, including the buzzer-beater that won Game 4 of the Western Conference finals against Sacramento. "They were playing good; you can't take anything away from them." The Lakers seemed in complete control late in the third quarter with a 73-63 lead when the Nets suddenly got their running game in gear. The Nets made 10 straight shots, and when their hot spell was over, they led 84-78, the crowd at Continental Airlines Arena was going crazy and the Lakers seemed a tired and beaten group.
The two-time defending champion Lakers, who have been in tight situations on so many occasions, outscored the Nets 13-2 to go ahead for good. Derek Fisher, who had 13 points and six assists, said the Lakers never lost faith. "There was so much time left," he said. "We didn't get rattled, kept our composure. We made some defensive stops and put the ball in the hands of our best players." Fisher referred to Bryant and O'Neal, but Horry and George also came through. George, who scored all six of his points and got five of his eight rebounds in the final period, hit a twisting jumper from the right corner as the shot clock was running out to cut New Jersey's lead to 90-85 with 8:22 left. "I just took my time, shot my shot, followed through," said George, who has struggled with his shooting recently. Averaging 4.6 points in the playoffs, George made two free throws and a follow shot around a basket by Bryant to move the Lakers within 94-93 with 4:39 to play. "That's my role in the game, to provide a spark; that's what I'm supposed to do," George said. Horry had only three points before his 3-pointer gave the Lakers a 98-96 lead. "I've got so much confidence in my shot," Horry said. "I didn't even know that put us ahead -- I looked up at the board and we were ahead by two." And ahead to stay. Jason Kidd's 3-pointer with 5.2 seconds left cut the Lakers' lead to one point before Keith Van Horn fouled Rick Fox with 3.5 seconds to play. With the fans screaming and trying to distract him in any way possible, Fox hit nothing but net twice. "I've had great success throughout my career, all the way back to high school," he said. "In those situations, I never miss." Fox said the fans didn't bother him. "Players who have been around a long time, the front row, you seldom see anyone," he said. "I don't go past the baseline." Even in victory, the Lakers gave up 52 points in the paint while scoring 38 -- a shocking development considering the presence of O'Neal. In the end, though, it didn't matter. "Tighten the screws a little bit, shut the middle down a little more," Fox said when asked what made the difference. The Lakers set an NBA Finals record with their seventh straight victory -- four over Philadelphia last year and these three over the Nets. And they have won 14 of their last 16 road playoff games. One more and they will have added another title.
"Hopefully we can come out and have a good game on Wednesday
and hopefully we can win the championship," Bryant said.
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The Lakers look forward to taking a shot at a sweep on Wednesday. 
