Lakers-Kings square-off in Game 7

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - After two weeks of bad burgers, buzzer-beaters and brilliant basketball, the epic Western Conference finals will be decided in one game Sunday in front of the NBA&#39;s loudest fans. <br> <br> To Phil Jackson, who knows more about playoff success than just about anyone, it&#39;s the only appropriate way for the Los Angeles Lakers and the Sacramento Kings to cap the greatest chapter yet in their thriving rivalry. <br> <br> ``There&#39;s a certain thrill about (Game 7) that you don&#39;t find anywhere else in this game,&#39;&#39; the Los Angeles coach said Saturday.<br> <br> The biggest game in Arco Arena&#39;s history matches the two-time defending champion Lakers against the Kings, who won the Pacific Division title with the NBA&#39;s best regular-season record. The winner will be heavily favored to beat Eastern Conference champion New Jersey in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday night. <br> <br> The series has been a fascinating clash of styles, with the Kings&#39; consummate team play and the Lakers&#39; unrivaled star power essentially battling to a draw. Sacramento has outplayed Los Angeles for long stretches, but the Lakers&#39; will and championship wiles have generated just as many victories. <br> <br> ``I know the fans are loving what they&#39;re seeing, and that&#39;s good for basketball - that&#39;s good for all these kids watching on TV like I used to,&#39;&#39; Sacramento&#39;s Chris Webber said. <br> <br> ``I think it&#39;s great for the sport. Our sport is showcasing its young talent and older talent. (The series has) some great gunslinging, Pepto-Bismol games for people to watch.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> The series - the first all-California conference final in 29 years - became a Golden State classic when Robert Horry hit his game-winning 3-pointer in Game 4. It became one of the NBA&#39;s best recent playoff series when Mike Bibby&#39;s jumper won Game 5, and it only got better when Shaquille O&#39;Neal played a career-defining game on Friday night to save the Lakers&#39; season. <br> <br> It also has been a contentious series, with everything from hotel room service food to the officiating open to critique. The Lakers complained that O&#39;Neal wasn&#39;t getting the respect he deserved while Sacramento won three of four games midway through the series - and in Game 6, the Kings were whistled for a foul nearly every time they touched O&#39;Neal. <br> <br> The Lakers expect another huge game from O&#39;Neal, who overcame the multitude of injuries that have plagued him all year to record 41 points and 17 rebounds in Game 6 while playing with the unique combination of grace and brute force that set him apart from every other player. <br> <br> ``If you look at the history of the game, any player that has more than two championships, they&#39;ve won them each a different way,&#39;&#39; O&#39;Neal said. ``We play well up in that building. We just have to go and play hard, play aggressive. If we do that, then we should be fine. The pressure&#39;s on them. The pressure is not on us.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> The edge of big-game experience falls to the Lakers, though the champs haven&#39;t faced a Game 7 in two years - and the franchise has never won a Game 7 on the road, going winless in five tries. <br> <br> ``The Kings will have to play a game with some pressure that they&#39;ve never felt before,&#39;&#39; said Rick Fox, who&#39;s always eager to needle the Kings. ``Some of their coaching staff has, but the intensity of that is going to be great.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> But the Kings, who haven&#39;t yet lost consecutive games in the playoffs, aren&#39;t buying it. After all, they&#39;re not exactly playoff neophytes in their fourth consecutive trip to the postseason. <br> <br> ``I don&#39;t believe anything the Lakers say,&#39;&#39; Webber said. ``I&#39;ve learned that all that is talk and rhetoric. We&#39;re a good team, and we&#39;re going to go out ready to play like every game. Experience, no experience, this and that - none of that matters when get between the lines and give it your all, and you feel like it&#39;s your turn.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> The Kings earned the right to play host in this game largely because of their 36-5 record at Arco during the regular season, which boosted Sacramento to a league-best 61-21 record overall and the franchise&#39;s first Pacific Division title. <br> <br> ``They&#39;ve been to Game 7 before, but not against us,&#39;&#39; coach Rick Adelman said. ``They haven&#39;t been there before. They haven&#39;t played at Arco in a seventh game.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> But the homecourt advantage hasn&#39;t meant much in the playoffs. Perhaps overexcited by their exhausting fans, Sacramento has lost one home game in each playoff series, including Game 1 to the Lakers. <br> <br> Adelman and Sacramento president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie both spoke to the Kings on Saturday at their training complex next door to Arco Arena. <br> <br> Petrie and Adelman, who built and taught the core group of players who resurrected the franchise from decades of mediocrity, both affirmed their belief in the Kings&#39; ability to shock the mighty defending champs. <br> <br> ``It&#39;s probably down to which teams gets that one break in the fourth quarter that decides it,&#39;&#39; Adelman said. ``This is what we worked for all year. We want to play here. In my mind, this is what makes the game fun.&#39;&#39;