Kings for a Day? No Doubt About It

All the Sacramento Kings gained here was a little bit of credibility.

Come on, now. If you can’t win one home game out of two, if you can’t capitalize on a sick Kobe Bryant and a derailed Shaquille O’Neal, then you really have no business being in the Western Conference finals.

The Kings did what they had to do. They beat the Lakers, 96-90, and evened the series at 1-1. They ensured themselves another home game, Game 5, but I’m less convinced than before that they’ll get back to L.A. for a Game 6.

Bryant and O’Neal came up smaller than usual in the second half, no other Lakers filled the gaps and yet they still entertained thoughts of sending this game into overtime during the final seconds.

The Kings made just enough of their 38 (38!) free throws to hold the Lakers at bay.

And the Lakers just sort of brushed it off. There won’t be much soul-searching these next three days before Game 3 on Friday.

“We have no regrets about this game,” said forward Robert Horry, who might have lamented his two missed three-point shots if he hadn’t grabbed 20 rebounds.

“We feel good about what went on tonight,” O’Neal said.

O’Neal made some not-so-thinly veiled remarks about the officiating, but that was really the natural order of the NBA exerting itself.

Things have a way of evening out in the course of a series. The Lakers got the calls in Game 1, the Kings got the calls in Game 2, and that’s the last that will be said here about the officiating.

Still, the Lakers were in as cheerful a mood as you’ll ever find them after a playoff loss. O’Neal, who usually drops his head and mumbles in an even lower monotone, looked up, looked alert and was even playful.

Bryant popped his head into the media work area and growled at the reporters pounding away at their laptops: “Punch the keys!”

After a room service bacon cheeseburger gave him a bout of food poisoning, Bryant made a wisecrack at the podium that the next time he’s hungry he’ll go to McDonald’s. (That’s the second endorsement he’s managed to work into these televised postgame interview sessions. Did you notice what brand of soft drink he sipped after Game 3 in San Antonio?)

For a while on Monday night it really was “Shaq-ramento”--as the sign said at the gate for my Southwest Airlines flight here.

O’Neal scored 13 consecutive points for the Lakers in the second quarter. He had 23 points on 11-for-15 shooting before he picked up his third foul 4:49 before halftime. He went out and never got his groove back.

In the second half, he made only four of 12 shots.

The Lakers had the shots they wanted in the third quarter. They had O’Neal with the ball inside, Bryant firing jumpers, and had little to show for it. They shot a combined five for 12 in the quarter and the Lakers fell behind by 15 points before rallying to make it interesting at the end.

The Kings did do some good things. Hedo Turkoglu, who gave them nothing in the first game, finally made some shots and scored eight points.

Bobby Jackson continues to be a daredevil on his flights to the basket and should be playing more minutes than Turkoglu. But the Lakers keep exploiting him defensively by posting Rick Fox or even Devean George against him.

The Kings got another solid game from Mike Bibby.

Chris Webber put up the numbers--21 points, 13 rebounds and five assists--but he still hasn’t shown the will or ability to take over a game. That’s what we’re all waiting for from him.

“There’s times I need to be more aggressive,” Webber said. “But at the same time, I believe in my team.”

He keeps talking about wanting to keep his assists up this series and make sure his teammates get good shots.

He should worry about getting his own shots. The Kings don’t have any better option than Webber in the low post against the overmatched Horry or Samaki Walker.

O’Neal is setting up so deep that he might strike oil. As long as the Lakers keep getting him the ball down there, they’ll keep enjoying the best percentage shots in the business. That’s why their chances in this series look so good.

So the Lakers got one out of two, which showed that it is possible to have a good time in Sacramento. They didn’t get two, which would constitute a great trip to Sacramento, and I’m not sure that’s possible.

They still have to come back here. And I’ll offer this free bit of advice for Bryant, the best thing I have to say about Sacramento: There’s an In-N-Out Burger about a mile or so from Arco Arena.

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J.A. Adande can be reached at: j.a.adande@latimes.com