Lake Show Life
Fansided

Los Angeles Lakers: Best Western Conference Finals in team history

By Jason Reed

Peja Stojakovic (R) and Scot Pollard (L) of the Sacramento Kings defend against Shaquille O'Neal (C) of the Los Angeles Lakers during 3rd quarter action of Game 6 in their Western Conference Finals at the Staples Center in Los Angeles 31 May 2002. The Kings lead the best-of-seven series 3-2. AFP PHOTO/Matt SIMON (Photo by MATT SIMON / AFP) (Photo credit should read MATT SIMON/AFP via Getty Images)
Peja Stojakovic (R) and Scot Pollard (L) of the Sacramento Kings defend against Shaquille O'Neal (C) of the Los Angeles Lakers during 3rd quarter action of Game 6 in their Western Conference Finals at the Staples Center in Los Angeles 31 May 2002. The Kings lead the best-of-seven series 3-2. AFP PHOTO/Matt SIMON (Photo by MATT SIMON / AFP) (Photo credit should read MATT SIMON/AFP via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 5
Next
(Mandatory Credit: Stephen Dunn /Allsport) – Los Angeles Lakers
(Mandatory Credit: Stephen Dunn /Allsport) – Los Angeles Lakers /

Los Angeles Lakers best Western Conference Finals: 4. 1991 vs. Portland

The 1991 Los Angeles Lakers represented the end of one historic era in basketball history and the beginning of another. It was the last prime season of Magic Johnson’s career as he retired after the season due to him contracting the HIV virus and it was the year that Michael Jordan’s Bulls finally beat the Bad Boy Pistons and won the NBA Championship.

The Lakers may have not beaten Michael Jordan and the Bulls in the NBA Championship but you could argue that they probably should not have even been there. The Lakers were not the best team in the West that season, but Magic’s playoff experience and leadership led the third-seeded Lakers over the first-seeded Portland Trailblazers.

The Lakers were squaring off against a Portland team that had just won 63 games led by Clyde Drexler. Portland defeated the Lakers in three of the five regular-season matchups.

This series only went six games and Game 6 was as dramatic as it could be. With just over 30 seconds left to play and a one-point lead, the Lakers had a chance to score and put the pressure on Portland to hit a three.

The Lakers suffered a shot-clock violation, giving Portland just over 12 seconds with a one-point deficit to push the series to Game 7.

Portland missed the shot, Magic gathered the rebounded and slung the ball to the opposite side of the court. The ball went out of bounds by the Lakers’ basket with 0.1 seconds on the clock, leading to Magic Johnson’s last NBA Finals appearance.

Home/Lakers News