LOS ANGELES - Shaquille O'Neal simply wouldn't allow the Los Angeles Lakers' dream of a dynasty to die at home. <br>
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Carrying his teammates on his broad shoulders one more time, O'Neal had 41 points and 17 rebounds as the two-time defending champions forced a Game 7 in the Western Conference finals, beating the Sacramento Kings 106-102 Friday night. <br>
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With everything from savage dunks and delicate hook shots to a string of 10 straight free throws, O'Neal wouldn't allow this epic playoff series to end early. He went 13-for-17 from the line, not a remarkable feat for most players - but an indication of just how seriously O'Neal took this game.<br>
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Now, it will end appropriately: With the champs matched against the NBA's best regular-season team in a winner-take-all game on Sunday. <br>
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The winner of Game 7 at Arco Arena will play host to the New Jersey Nets, winners of the Eastern Conference, in Game 1 of the Finals on Wednesday night. <br>
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Kobe Bryant had 31 points and 11 rebounds in the Lakers' first elimination game since the 2000 conference finals against Portland. <br>
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Los Angeles went nearly six minutes without a field goal down the stretch in the fourth quarter, but made 18 free throws over the final 6:21 to hold off the Kings. Bryant made four free throws in the final 19.8 seconds. <br>
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Without O'Neal's dominance, Los Angeles' hope of a third straight title probably would have died against another aggressive, uptempo effort by the Kings. Chris Webber had an outstanding game, finishing with 26 points and 13 rebounds. <br>
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But O'Neal was relentless in a performance fitting for the dominant big man of his era. He scored 21 points in the first half, then didn't come out of the game in the second half despite his assortment of injuries. <br>
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Mike Bibby scored 23 points for the Kings, who knew all along they didn't have an answer for O'Neal. Kings big men Scot Pollard and Vlade Divac both fouled out, and Sacramento was forced to use Lawrence Funderburke in the fourth quarter. <br>
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While winning three of the previous four games in the series, Sacramento used foul trouble and big early leads to wear down O'Neal and his arthritic toe before crunch time; in Game 6, O'Neal didn't appear the least bit tired or injured. <br>
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O'Neal also got nearly every call that didn't go his way in Sacramento. Pollard, a disbelieving grin on his face, fouled out with 11:34 to play in the fourth, and Divac fouled out on a phantom call with 2:56 left. <br>
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Los Angeles nursed a narrow lead for most of the fourth quarter, with O'Neal and Bryant taking nearly every shot. O'Neal has complained about the liberal officiating throughout the series, and it appeared to make a big difference in the fourth quarter. <br>
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The Kings went up 90-89 on Divac's three-point play with 4:38 left, but the officials were busy turning the game into a free-throw shooting contest, with Los Angeles going to the line on six of seven possessions. Bryant, Robert Horry and Rick Fox all contributed free throws as the Lakers went up 99-96. <br>
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Los Angeles didn't get a field goal between O'Neal's hook shot with 6:51 left and his nimble reverse layup with 52 seconds to play that put the Lakers up 101-98. <br>
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Hedo Turkoglu twice cut the lead to one point, but Bryant - who went 11-for-11 from the line, including making seven in the fourth - was perfect on four straight free throws, and Bibby missed a 3-pointer over Bryant to seal it. <br>
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Sacramento led at halftime for the third straight time at Staples Center, where the Kings won just once in 11 games until this series. But the Kings never got into a flow in a choppy second half, and the Lakers held them off. <br>
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Sacramento All-Star Peja Stojakovic, who missed six playoff games with a sprained ankle before returning Tuesday night, was closer to his usual form. He again came off the bench behind Turkoglu, but he scored 10 points and played 10 minutes in each half. <br>
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O'Neal was characteristically dominant in the first half, particularly when Bryant went to the bench with two fouls. The Kings shot less than 40 percent early on, including Game 5 hero Bibby's 1-of-8 performance. <br>
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O'Neal scored 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting to keep the Lakers ahead, but Sacramento closed the half with 10 straight points. Divac's buzzer-beating 3-pointer - from the exact spot where Horry won Game 4 for the Lakers - gave the Kings a 56-51 halftime lead. <br>
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NOTES: With 12 seconds left, Bryant dropped Bibby to the ground with an apparently inadvertent elbow to the point guard's face. ... The Kings are facing their first elimination game of the playoffs. They've already won more postseason games this spring (10) than they won in the previous 20 seasons combined (8). ... Webber, Divac and Devean George all got technical fouls in the first half. ... Among the celebrities in attendance: Eddie Murphy, Brad Pitt, Will Smith and wife Jada Pinkett-Smith, David Duchovny, Chris Rock, Luke Wilson, Stephen Dorff, Catherine Keener, Texas Tech coach Bob Knight and Tracy McGrady of the Orlando Magic.
