GAME REPORT

First Quarter

Lakers: 29

Sacramento: 19

Highlight Reel: The Kings needed Vlade Divac to step up and he did early when he found himself defended by Horace Grant instead of Shaquille O’Neal and faked a pass to free himself for a reverse right-hand dunk.

It’s Not in the Box Score: How Sacramento forward Chris Webber decided to shave his head bald over the off days between Game 2 and 3, while O’Neal allowed his hair to grow.

Winning Numbers: 15 and nine. The total points and rebounds Sacramento received from frontcourt players Peja Stojakovic, Webber and Divac.

Wrong Number: 10. Despite playing their best first quarter of the series, the Kings trailed by this total after 12 minutes.

Leading Scorers: Lakers: Kobe Bryant 8; Rick Fox and O’Neal 6 each. Kings: Divac 7; Webber and Stojakovic 4 each.

Leading Rebounders:Lakers: O’Neal 7. Kings: Webber and Divac 4 each.

Second Quarter

Lakers: 46

Sacramento: 37

Highlight Reel: With both O’Neal and Bryant on the bench because of foul trouble, reserve guard Brian Shaw picked up a rebound, led a three-on-one Laker fastbreak and then finished it off with a finger-roll layup.

It’s Not in the Box Score: How Sacramento backup big man Scot Pollard looked like he was hit in the face by Mike Tyson when O’Neal was called for an offensive foul after he knocked Pollard down with an elbow to the chin.

Winning Number: Nine. After getting only one bench point in Game 2, reserves Robert Horry and Shaw combined for this total in the first half alone for the Lakers.

Wrong Numbers: Two and three. The amount of field goals attempted and fouls committed by O’Neal in the first half.

Leading Scorers: Lakers: Derek Fisher 7, Grant 4. Kings: Webber 8, Stojakovic 4.

Leading Rebounders: Lakers: Horry 5, Bryant and Horry 2 each. Kings: Webber 4, Divac 3.

Third Quarter

Lakers: 65

Sacramento: 54

Highlight Reel: Sacramento finally got its running game going with consecutive fastbreak baskets. Doug Christie started it off when he stole the ball from Fox to set up a layup by Stojakovic and then Webber’s defensive rebound led to an open-court field goal for Jason Williams.

It’s Not in the Box Score: How the Kings’ big men got physical with O’Neal and Sacramento’s hard double-teams forced the Laker center into poor shots away from the basket.

Winning Number: Seven. The amount of consecutive Laker points scored by Bryant, who provided a one-man scoring blitz to close the quarter after the Kings closed to within six points.

Wrong Number: Zero. The amount of points scored by Divac, who after a strong first two quarters disappeared after halftime.

Leading Scorers: Lakers: Bryant 11, O’Neal 4. Kings: Webber 6, Stojakovic 4.

Leading Rebounders: Lakers: O’Neal 6; Grant and Bryant 2 each. Kings: Webber 3; Divac, Williams and Stojakovic 2 each.

Fourth Quarter

Lakers: 103

Sacramento: 81

Highlight Reel: With Doug Christie trying to deny Bryant the ball by playing in front of him, the Laker guard spun and grabbed an alley-oop pass from Shaw and finished the play with a reverse dunk in front of Divac.

It’s Not in the Box Score: How easy it is for Bryant to act like a tough guy every time Sacramento fouled him hard because he knows O’Neal is on the floor to back him up.

Winning Number: 81. The total points scored by Sacramento, which finished the regular season as the league’s highest scoring team at 101.7 a game.

Wrong Numbers: One. Number of three-point baskets made in the game by the Kings, who missed 13 attempts.

Leading Scorers: Lakers: Bryant 15, O’Neal 11. Kings: Webber 10, Hedo Turkoglu and Christie 5.

Leading Rebounders: Lakers: O’Neal 4; Fox and Bryant 2 each. Kings: Webber and Divac 3 each.