Lakers Return to Finals Determined to Win This Time

The decade began with destruction in the form of a crushing Shaquille O'Neal dunk, finesse in the form of a seductive Kobe Bryant drive, and the relative calm of Phil Jackson and his Zen. The Los Angeles Lakers won three championships from 2000 to 2002 and appeared destined to keep adding to their dynasty until the trio was split by hubris and personality clashes that played out in an ugly implosion against the Detroit Pistons in the 2004 NBA Finals.

It's been seven years since the Lakers last hoisted the Larry O'Brien Trophy, which explains their subdued celebration after defeating the Denver Nuggets, 119-92, in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals on Friday night to advance to the NBA Finals for the 30th time in franchise history. The Lakers donned their conference championship T-shirts long enough for a brief ceremony and trophy presentation, then they put them aside. As they left Pepsi Center, center Andrew Bynum was the only player still wearing his crisp, new T-shirt.

"We're very thankful about being in this position, obviously," Bryant said after scoring 35 points and contributing 10 assists in the series clincher. "But we're ready to move on to the NBA Finals and try to take care of business."

The Lakers are making their sixth trip to the Finals this decade, but the past two appearances resulted in disheartening losses to Detroit and Boston, the latter of which defeated them in six games, including an embarrassing 39-point loss in the decisive Game 6. Bryant and Derek Fisher are the lone holdovers from the championship teams, but the entire team shares the desire to become the first team since the 1988-89 Detroit Pistons to lose in the Finals and win a championship the next season.

"Last year hurt us pretty bad," forward Pau Gasol said. "Now we have a chance to redeem ourselves and go for it again. So we're pretty excited."

They will face a different opponent in the Orlando Magic, but have several of the same plotlines from a year ago. Bryant will still be in search of his fourth NBA title, which would put him two away from Michael Jordan and be his first without O'Neal (who has won another ring in Miami). And Jackson will make his third attempt to pass Red Auerbach for most NBA championships with 10.

"As far as getting there, not winning, it's a very big disappointment -- huge," Jackson said. "Detroit loss, and obviously Boston loss last year, a big disappointment to both teams and the coaching staff. We feel like we failed our team as a coaching staff in both situations. So, having to go back there knowing what a disappointment it was over the summer, to live with that, and say we're going go back there and do this regardless, we're going to get this done. I give a lot of credit to these guys."

The Lakers have confidence that they will be able to emerge victorious and claim the franchise's 15th championship. They stormed through the Western Conference with a 12-3 record last postseason, but feel better prepared after going 12-6 this time around, including a hard-fought, seven-game series against Houston and another physical battle against Denver.

After some uneven performances this postseason, the Lakers were tied at 2 against a talented Nuggets team before finally put it all together in their final two games, using better ball movement and sustained focus on defense. "I saw little cracks in the Lakers," Nuggets Coach George Karl said, "and somehow we've cemented those cracks back up. And I think they're the best team right now in the NBA."

They are better because Bryant has blocked out the fatigue of having no rest the past two summers, because Gasol and Lamar Odom relieved him of the pressure to carry the team offensively, and because Trevor Ariza and Bynum have helped provide some of the toughness that had been lacking last season.

"We really proved to ourselves and everybody else that we can be an extremely high-quality team," said Gasol, "a team that deserves to be in the NBA Finals and is going for the NBA championship."

And seeking to return to the dominance of the past.