Summary

The defending champion Los Angeles Lakers were virtually unbeatable down the stretch and through the playoffs. After winning the last eight games of the season, they went 15-1 in the post-season to win their second straight title.

Oddly, the Lakers didn't have that great a season. Their strong finish gave them the Pacific Division championship by just one game over the Sacramento Kings, and their 56 wins left them two behind the San Antonio Spurs, who won the Midwest Division. The Philadelphia 76ers also won 56 games to lead the Eastern Conference.

Once the playoffs began, though, the Lakers were more than ready. They swept Portland, Sacramento, and San Antonio, in that order, to reach the finals. Their championship opponents, the 76ers, traveled a much more difficult road. They pulled out a 1-point victory to eliminate Toronto in the Eastern semi-finals and it also took them seven games to beat the Milwaukee Bucks for the conference championship.

Allen Iverson of the 76ers was the league's scoring leader. Shaquille O'Neal of the Lakers finished third, behind Jerry Stackhouse of Detroit. But the Lakers' Kobe Bryant was fourth, just two-tenths of a point behind O'Neal, while Iverson didn't have that kind of offensive support.

Philadelphia had traded for Dikembe Mutombo during the season for his rebounding and shot blocking, but he proved to be no match for O'Neal, who averaged 33 points and 15.8 rebounds in the five-game series.

The first game was the high point for the 76ers. Iverson scored 48 points in Philadelphia's 107-101 win at Los Angeles. That evidently woke up the Lakers, In Game 2, O'Neal had 28 points, 20 rebounds, 9 assists, and 8 blocked shots, while Bryant added 31 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists, After O'Neal fouled out with 2:21 remaining in Game 3 at Philadelphia, veteran forward Robert Horry came off the bench to score 7 points in the final 47 seconds to give the Lakers a 5-point win. That set the stage for Los Angeles to sweep the three games in Philly to take the title.

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