Nba Finals

Late NBA game: Last night's Game 5 between the Los Angeles Lakers and Detroit Pistons in Detroit ended too late to be included in this edition. A complete report can be found in later editions or on the Internet at www.baltimoresun.com. DETROIT - The run to greatness began in 1988, on the floor of a locker room shower at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif., where two weeping Bad Boys passed a champagne bottle back and forth. The Lakers had just knocked off the Pistons in the seventh game of the NBA Finals.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - Only the Los Angeles Lakers could reach the NBA Finals and have the season end so badly. But here they are, still three wins from the parade - and one loss to the Detroit Pistons from a summer's tumult. They stood yesterday morning in the grime of Sunday night's loss and a 3-1 series deficit, too many of them limping to even muster a practice. The Lakers' bus pulled into The Palace of Auburn Hills, the players trudged off, reporters gathered, the players trudged back on, and the bus backed out. Not a single basketball touched the hardwood floor.

SAN ANTONIO -- Things are certainly looklng up these days for San Antonio Spurs guard Steve Kerr. "I didn't think I'd have my own podium at the Finals. I've arrived," Kerr said jokingly yesterday while greeting the media after practice. Game 1 of the NBA Finals is tonlght. Kerr, 37, in his 15th NBA season, played so infrequently in the first three rounds of the Western Conference playoffs that he nicknamed himself "Ted," likening himself to Ted Williams, the late Boston Red Sox outfielder whose remains have been frozen by his son. Kerr played a total of 12 minutes in the first 17 San Antonio playoff games this.

LOS ANGELES - Yesterday was just another day at the Southern California beach for Sam Cassell, with the usual drill, including hosting the family and playing point guard in the NBA All-Star Game. Cassell (Dunbar), selected as a reserve for the Western Conference squad, said he spent the morning and afternoon relaxing with his family before coming to Staples Center for last night's game. The hoopla of being the second-oldest first-time All-Star in league history rolled off Cassell's back easily.

LOS ANGELES - Perhaps it's not going to be that easy for the Los Angeles Lakers. Hey, it looks like we've got an NBA Finals here. "I don't look at us as underdogs," Detroit Pistons coach Larry Brown said after his team outplayed the Lakers last night in a going-away 87-75 victory. "Our players look at themselves as pretty special in their own right." The Pistons were special and very good in surprising everyone but themselves in taking a 1-0 lead in the NBA Finals thanks to a defense that befuddled and bewildered the Lakers.

LOS ANGELES - Kobe Bryant not only saved a game, he may also have salvaged a season. Converting a three-pointer with 2.1 seconds to play in regulation to force overtime last night, Bryant kept the Los Angeles Lakers afloat in what turned into a 99-91 victory over the Detroit Pistons that evened the NBA Finals at 1-1. "It's all about the challenge," Bryant said. "We're playing for the highest stakes. You've got to rise to that." While not quite as dramatic as the buzzer-beating basket by guard Derek Fisher that allowed the Lakers to survive their second-round series against the San Antonio Spurs, Bryant's basket gave hope that there might yet be a happy ending for the Lakers' seemingly dysfunctional group of superstars.

PHILADELPHIA - Of all the achievements the Los Angeles Lakers have put together this season, the one coach Phil Jackson is proudest of is the team's road run through the NBA playoffs. The Lakers won all eight road games, beating the 1994-95 Houston Rockets' previous mark for most road victories in the playoffs by one. "I think the road victories that you win in the playoffs are almost doubly sweet," Jackson said before the Lakers ended the Finals in five games with a 108-96 victory last night.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Before the NBA Finals began last week, New Jersey Nets coach Byron Scott portrayed his team's matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers as a meeting be tween a team of destiny and one of a dynastic mode. Score one for the dynasty, as the Lakers claimed their third straight championship last night with a 113-107 win over the Nets here at Continental Airlines Arena. These Lakers claimed their place in history, becoming the fifth team in league history to win three straight titles, and their coach, Phil Jackson tied Boston mentor Red Auerbach with nine championships.