No Surprise, It’s Been the Kings’ Series for a While

SACRAMENTO — The game of the Lakers’ season, the game of the Kings’ lives....

Mike Bibby won it with a clutch 22-footer with 8.2 seconds left, which was only appropriate since Bibby, one of the most anonymous Kings during the season, has single-handedly changed the equation in this once-only-fanciful rivalry, turning his underdogs into a team capable of playing the Lakers on equal terms here, there, anywhere.

This is the Kings’ series now, which shouldn’t be surprising. It has been for a while, since Scot Pollard drew Shaquille O’Neal’s third foul, just before halftime in Game 2.

After that, the Lakers would lead for a grand total of 29.1 seconds in the rest of Games 2, 3 and 4. The tenth of a second, of course represents the official time that Robert Horry’s game-winner dropped at the end of Game 4.

The only fluke is that the series is still going. One less miracle and the Lakers are already on vacation.

Before Bibby emerged -- midway through the Kings’ second-round series against Dallas after Peja Stojakovic was hurt--the Kings were a high-scoring team the Lakers had proved they could handle.

Now, with Bibby getting into the middle time after time, averaging 22 points in this series and opening up the floor, the King offense has one more dimension than the Lakers have figured out how to handle.

“I’m just being more aggressive,” said the soft-spoken Bibby. “During the season, I had a tendency to just sit back and watch. We have so much offensive firepower, I think that might happen sometimes. I think I fall into that trap. I just like to watch and see what everybody else does.... “

Having proved they could look the monster in the eye, in his lair, and live to tell the story, the Kings went back home and got over their broken hearts in record time. Or as Coach Rick Adelman said between games: “We felt we went down there and we controlled those two games. I mean, they were chasing us all the way and now we’re home.”

Tuesday’s game was a tactical race, revolving around O’Neal’s foul problems. O’Neal, who is totally weirded out at the thought of getting charges on flops here, did everything but run out the door, trying to avoid calls ... but the Kings kept running after him, and getting bumped just enough to get the calls.

Foul No. 1 came on a Vlade Divac drive early in the game, which O’Neal foolishly challenged.

Foul No. 2 came on a Chris Webber drive on which Shaq tried to duck out of the way, but got Webber with his hip.

On foul No. 3, O’Neal accidentally tripped Doug Christie.

Foul No. 4 came early in the third quarter, trying to get out of the way of a Webber drive.

Somehow he tiptoed through the rest of the third quarter, getting no more fouls, scoring 10 points to haul the Lakers, who had trailed by 10, back into the game.

However, he picked up No. 5, trying to tie up Divac on a drive with 7:20 left.

Then with 3:22 left, O’Neal found himself picking up Bibby, slithering to the hoop once more, and was called for bumping him only a tad, as Bibby went sprawling over the baseline. Nice knowing you and thanks for coming, big guy.

“That’s been our philosophy,” Adelman said. “We want to make him [O’Neal] try to play defense. It’s hard to just post him up. It’s better to try to attack him with the ball.

“We move the ball pretty well and we got pretty good movement tonight. Now he’s got to react to people coming at him all the time.”

There remained the matter of getting the lead back from the Lakers, who held on tenaciously, until the Kings inbounded with 11 seconds left, Bibby came off a Webber screen and knocked down his game-winner, as if he were Jerry West.

On the play before, Webber had gotten the ball, looking confused about what to do with it, and wound up having it tipped out of bounds, which, of course, is not what superstars are supposed to do in these situations.

Asked later about the fact that he was the one setting the screen for the winning shot, and Bibby was the one shooting it, Webber bristled anew.

“I don’t know,” Webber said. “I don’t care. You [reporters] can dog me the rest of my life.... I don’t care. Coach could have put on a uniform and hit that shot and I wouldn’t care.”

Of course, there are about six more Kings who could hit that shot too. That’s the problem the Lakers have been wrestling with for five games and they’re running out of time to find an answer.