Los Angeles Lakers: The five best playoff moments since 2000
By Jason Reed
Los Angeles Lakers best playoff moments since 2000: 1. Robert Horry’s clutch game-winner, 2002 Western Conference Finals
Robert Horry was never a fantastic player, but he will forever be a player that is brought up in bar trivia. That is because Horry won seven championships as a member of the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs.
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He will forever be etched in Lakers’ history for his clutch shot in the 2002 Western Conference Finals that led to one of his seven championships. Without it, we very well be saying that Kobe Bryant was a four-time champion and that the Lakers never threepeated with Kobe and Shaq.
The Lakers were down 24 points to the rivaled Sacramento Kings in a Western Conference Finals that was as intense as a basketball game could be. What resulted was arguably the greatest comeback victory in NBA history.
Kobe Bryant uncharacteristically missed the game-tying layup, only for the other superstar, Shaq, to get the rebound and miss an easy putback two. Former Laker Vlade Divac, who was traded for Bryant’s draft rights, batted the ball out to the three-point line, seemingly winning the game for the Kings.
This would have given the Kings a 3-1 series lead. With the Kings winning the next game in real life, chances are the Lakers would not have been able to overcome that deficit and win in seven games, which is what happened in reality.
There was one problem for Divac: Robert Horry. The ball bounced to Horry, who caught it with 1.2 seconds on the clock, and then drained a game-winning three to tie the series at four.
This moment is historic for the eruption that ensued at the Staples Center and it was so perfect. After the Lakers’ two superstars missed game-tying shots it was Robert Horry of all people that hit the game-winner that eventually led to the Lakers’ toughest series win of the threepeat.
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From a 24-point deficit to one of the most clutch shots in NBA history, this has to be the Los Angeles Lakers’ top playoff moment of the 21st century.