By Tony Becca - On The Boundary THE LOS Angeles Lakers won the Western Conference with a thrilling victory over the Sacramento Kings on Sunday, they now take on the New Jersey Nets in the NBA finals, following victories in 2000 and 2001 they are gunning for three straight, and after their performance against the Kings, they should accomplish the rare
feat.
The Nets, conquerors of the Boston Celtics, are good, and they must fancy their chances of a successful first attempt at the title.
The Lakers, however, are the best, they have home court advantage, in Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, they boast two great players, and on top of that, they must be brimming with confidence after a magnificent victory over the Kings.
Down 2-1 and then 3-2, the Lakers won Game 6 at home, and then with the odds against them, with no team losing Game 7 at home in 20 years and history against them, they went to Sacramento and clipped the Kings in the first Game 7 over-time in Conference history.
In a thrilling climax to a close and exciting series, the Lakers trailed in the last minute of regular time, and after a tie at 100-100 at the end of regulation time, they were down in the final two minutes of over-time before pulling away to win 112-106.
Although the Kings played well and all but destroyed the Lakers mystique, class is class, and with O'Neal and Bryant leading the way, that was Lakers class on parade.
The real class of the Lakers was demonstrated at the end, however, and sportsmen and sportswomen around the world should hail them for their gesture to a great opponent and their tribute to the Kings after a hard fought contest.
The man who almost knocked them off the pedestal was Mike Bibby, he was a disappointed man at the end, and minutes after the final buzzer a number of the Lakers players, including Bryant, went over and consoled him.
That was wonderful, and so too the words of comfort for the Kings.
Unlike so many teams who preen themselves at the end of victory - some times at the expense of the losers, Lakers coach Phil Jackson, Bryant, O'Neal and Rick Fox took time out from their celebration to remember the efforts of the vanquished.
"The Kings were the better team tonight they deserved to win, but somehow we did," said Jackson.
"The Kings were playing better basketball than us and we were able to fight back and that makes it feel great," said Bryant.
"They played us well all season, and they played us well during the series," said O'Neal.
The biggest complement, however, came from Rick Fox when he said, "they humbled us in a lot of ways".
The Kings, in spite of their disappointment, were also good.
Unlike some losers who always find excuses, they were gracious in defeat, and Chris Webber's words said it all. "They (the Lakers) are the champions and they are the best team until somebody takes it away from them."
Will the Lakers remain champions, will they still be the best after tangling with the Nets in the finals which start tonight?
Although the Kings pushed them all the way and sucked every ounce of energy out of them, the Lakers are a class act, remembering, among other things, Robert Horry's three-point buzzer-beater in Game 4 when they pulled level at 2-2, some times they are like magicians, Shaq and Kobe are the best, and Jason Kidd or no Jason Kidd, they should be too hot for the Nets.
On top of that, the Kings, Bibby and Webber were so good that the Lakers must once again believe that they are invincible, they must be bubbling with confidence, and when they are in that mood no one can stop them.
