Kobe went 0-for-4 from the field in the first quarter under Christie's defense, scoring no points. For Kobe, who had an obsession with victory, this was an unbearable humiliation.
At the start of the second quarter, Kobe began a furious onslaught, shooting 6-of-10 and making 1 of 2 free throws, scoring 13 points in the quarter!
In the third quarter, the Lakers tightened their defense, committing 7 fouls as a team, successfully holding the Kings to 15 points in the quarter.
By the time they entered the fourth quarter, the Lakers had successfully narrowed the deficit to 13 points!
Although 13 points offered a chance of a comeback compared to 20, there was still a significant gap to true victory.
Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe were once again tightly guarded by the Kings, trying to break through but unable to do so.
At the crucial moment, Horry arrived!
Yes, during the stalemate where the OK combination struggled to catch up, Horry scored 8 consecutive points with two three-pointers and two free throws, successfully helping the Lakers tie the score!
As the game entered the final minute, with Kobe sinking a picturesque mid-range fadeaway jumper and O'Neal making one of two free throws, the Lakers closed the gap to 97-98!
Subsequently, the Kings took the final possession. Vlade Divac got an opportunity to shoot under the basket, and Kobe was forced to foul him, sending Divac to the free-throw line.
Divac made only one of two free throws, making it 99-97 and leaving the Lakers a chance for a game-winning comeback.
With only 11.8 seconds left, the Lakers were once again in a do-or-die situation.
Phil Jackson devised the final play, deciding to go for two points and force overtime to decide the game with the Kings.
Therefore, this opportunity was given to Kobe!
Kobe had the ball, used a screen, forcefully shook off Christie, and drove into the Kings' paint!
The Lakers' previous plays had gone smoothly, and Kobe successfully reached the basket, dodging Webber's block and going up for a layup while airborne!
It was this crucial layup that Kobe missed!
The ball rolled out of the rim. Seeing the Lakers on the verge of defeat, O'Neal, ignoring his big toe injury, pushed through the Kings' defense and leaped up to grab the offensive rebound, completing a put-back!
The ball still rolled out of the rim!
Seeing the OK combination repeatedly miss shots at the rim, the Lakers fans at the sidelines fell into despair!
Fortunately, the game wasn't over yet. After landing, O'Neal didn't give up and prepared for a second jump to attempt another put-back.
Divac, having failed on the previous play, decided not to grab the ball but to tip it away instead!
As O'Neal touched the ball for the second time, Divac fiercely swatted it directly to the three-point line, to the top of the arc...
Divac's decision, had it not coincidentally sent the ball to Horry beyond the three-point line, would have been a very wise choice!
With time running out, the Kings only needed to hold on for another 1.1 seconds to win the game!
If He Xi Meng were to choose, he would also choose to simply disrupt the ball!
But fatefully, Horry, as the Kings' power forward, was at the three-point line instead of driving inside to help O'Neal rebound.
And Divac's swat, fatefully, after a bounce off the floor, landed precisely in Horry's hands beyond the three-point arc. Horry caught the ball and, with a flick of his wrist, shot a three-pointer, a buzzer-beating dagger to kill the Kings!
This is the most bizarre and most talked-about game-winning shot in league history!
A coincidence that Hollywood screenwriters couldn't script happened in reality.
It truly validates the common saying in the NBA: "Don't give up on the game until the final buzzer sounds, because anything can happen..."
The Lakers' home crowd instantly erupted. All the Lakers players swarmed Horry, and Horry became the undeniable hero of Los Angeles at that moment.
The Kings players refused to believe the outcome, rewatching the replay on the big screen over and over, but ultimately, the fact of being eliminated by a buzzer-beater couldn't be changed.
From leading by 20 points to being defeated by a buzzer-beater, this bitter pill was truly hard to swallow.
In Game 5, Peja returned with an injury, coming off the bench to help, but his performance wasn't great.
The Kings, on their home court, were pushed to the brink of defeat by the Lakers.
With the game in the final minute, the Lakers led the Kings by 3 points, 91-88, putting all the pressure on Adelman.
Mike Bibby, who had an extraordinary season, withstood the pressure at the crucial moment. He first attacked Kobe, drawing a shooting foul, and made both free throws, narrowing the gap to 1 point.
Then Kobe took a fadeaway jumper that missed, giving the Kings the final possession.
Adelman called for a high-low play, with the ball switching between Bibby and Webber. Finally, Webber screened for Bibby and assisted him in making a difficult long two-pointer!
At 92-91, with 8.2 seconds left, the Kings successfully took the lead.
However, having learned a bitter lesson from the previous game against the Lakers, the Kings showed no joy this time. Instead, with the ball in the opponent's hands, they felt no sense of security about their fate.
The player executing the final play for the Lakers was again Kobe!
Shaquille O'Neal was double-teamed by Divac and Webber in the paint, unable to even receive the ball. Phil Jackson dared not entrust the play to other role players, so it was again handed to Kobe for a one-on-one!
But Kobe's fadeaway buzzer-beater still missed. The Kings escaped, successfully tying the series 3-2 and securing advancement.
The two teams returned to Los Angeles, and the most controversial Game 6 in league history was born.
The two teams battled through three quarters, entering the final quarter tied at 75-75.
Then, at the start of the fourth quarter, Divac fouled out with 6, Pollard fouled out with 6, Webber with 5, and Turkoglu with 4... By the end of the game, the Kings had accumulated a total of 31 fouls, with 16 of them in the fourth quarter alone!
The Lakers, due to fouls, were awarded 27 free throws in the fourth quarter, making 21 and scoring 21 points! The Lakers' total points in the fourth quarter were 31, meaning at least two-thirds of their points came from the free-throw line.
In contrast, the Lakers were called for only 8 fouls and received only 9 free throws...
After the game, Adelman complained to the media at the press conference: "This game was very different from the previous ones. Our big men combined for over 20 fouls, while O'Neal only had 4..."
Webber stated more directly: "I heard that champions are destined to remain champions..."
When the media relayed the Kings' complaints to the Lakers and asked O'Neal for his thoughts, O'Neal said nonchalantly: "I've been in the league for over a decade, and I've only complained about the referees about 5 times... The Kings? I think they're the Queens!"