THE NBA CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES : LAKERS WIN SECOND CONSECUTIVE TITLE : Other Views : Lakers Didn’t Score High Nationally on Style Points

They Lost? They lost. Those are all the words needed. There was only one team in the world Tuesday night for Detroit, and all night long--in this breathtaking Game 7 of the NBA Finals--that team, the Detroit Pistons, fought off defeat like some Atlas in basketball sneakers, the weight of the world on their shoulders. Until finally, with just moments left in the longest season in the history of the game, their shoulders buckled and the world caved in.

They lost. It’s over. The most unsocial of all Detroit basketball seasons ended one victory short of glory Tuesday night, final score 108-105, Los Angeles, a heartbreaking, heartstopping final show that wasn’t over until A.C. Green beat the Detroit defense for a layup with two seconds left that gave Los Angeles the win by inches.