In January 2002 the league's broadcast rights were awarded to ABC/ESPN in a six-year deal,[33] which was renewed for an additional eight years in 2007.[34]. [21] The San Antonio Spurs were dispatched in five games before Los Angeles met their biggest challenge in the duration of their championship reign in the Western Conference Finals: the Sacramento Kings. For the first time since 1998 and for only the third time in history, the NBA Finals ended before the NHL's Stanley Cup Finals; this would not happen again until 2011. " Game from 2002 Playoffs [24], With their season on the line, the Lakers returned home for Game 6. Jim Gray and Lewis Johnson roamed the sidelines for the Lakers and Nets respectively. [3] The next day, Phoenix Suns owner Jerry Colangelo announced a franchise-shaking trade; Phoenix would swap their point guard Jason Kidd for his New Jersey counterpart Stephon Marbury. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. NBA.com is part of Turner Sports Digital, part of the Turner Sports & Entertainment Digital Network. New Jersey head coach Byron Scott, a member of the Showtime Lakers, received a standing ovation. The season ended with the Los Angeles Lakers winning their third straight championship, beating the New Jersey Nets 4–0 in the 2002 NBA Finals . NBC ended the broadcast (and their 12-year run broadcasting NBA basketball) by displaying over the shot the message "Thanks for the memories". Team and players stats from the Western Conference Finals series played between the Sacramento Kings and the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2002 Playoffs. [30] Brent Musburger and Jack Ramsay called the four games on ESPN Radio. However, they still came up short, losing in six games to the Spurs, in the first NBA finals series featuring former ABA teams. The 2001–02 NBA season was the 56th season of the National Basketball Association. Do you have a sports website? Every Sports Reference Social Media Account. Desperate to take the lead, they utilized the "Hack-a-Shaq" strategy midway in the fourth. In stark contrast to New Jersey, the Los Angeles Lakers entered the season with high expectations, having won the last two NBA championships. The 56th edition of the championship series While the matchup was often uninteresting, with the Lakers averaging nearly a 10-point margin of victory in the sweep, center Shaquille O’Neal put on a show. The Lakers swept the Nets, four games to none, to win the franchise's 14th NBA championship and third consecutive NBA championship. In Game 3, the Nets were dominating the Celtics, leading by as much as 21 in the fourth quarter. The Nets, who shot 45% from the field and 74% on free throws were 39% and 57% respectively. But, the Lakers staged a furious second-half comeback to win 100â99, punctuated by Horry's buzzer-beating three-point shot. The Finals were produced and televised in the United States by NBC. 2002 NBA Playoff Series Results All the series from the 2002 Playoffs with results for all the games played, date, location, series winner and more information. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. Results, Statistics, Leaders and more for the 2002 NBA playoffs. We just dug ourselves a hole against the champions. Hannah Storm hosted the post-game show. 2002 NBA Finals. However, Boston, led by small forward Paul Pierce, then proceeded to outscore New Jersey 41â16 in the final period, rallying to win 94 to 90. [11] It was the Nets' first playoff series win since 1984. The 2002–03 New Jersey Nets season was the Nets' 36th season in the National Basketball Association, and 27th season in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Bob Costas hosted pregame and half-time shows with analyst Tom Tolbert. [15] New Jersey then took control of the series and won the next two games in large fashion to finish off Boston in six games, earning the franchise's first NBA Finals appearance and becoming the third former American Basketball Association (ABA) team to make the Finals (the Spurs and the Pacers being the first two). The standings and stats of the current NBA season. Data Provided By In a controversial contest, one in which the Lakers attempted 27 free throws in the fourth quarter to Sacramento's 9, O'Neal had one of the most dominant performances of his career with 41 points and 17 rebounds to force a Game 7 in ARCO Arena. The Nets trotted out a lineup of Kidd, Kittles, Martin, Van Horn and MacCulloch to hold up against the two-time defending and heavily favored champions. Copyright © 2000-2021 Sports Reference LLC. ... 2002-03 Player Statistics. Thorn then dealt for Stephon Marbury in a three-team trade with the Milwaukee Bucks and Minnesota Timberwolves, trading Sam Cassell away to the Bucks. [29] Kidd finished with a triple-double, the 26th in Finals history and the first since Charles Barkley's in the 1993 series. âLucious Harris, Sports Illustrated[28]. Join our linker program. [2] During the series, he surpassed Pat Riley for most career playoffs wins with 156. The Los Angeles Lakers Players Statistics. Follow the action on NBA scores, schedules, stats, news, Team and Player news. It backfired, as O'Neal was 5â8 from the free throw line and had 16 points and 9 rebounds in the period alone. Kidd finished the season awarded with first team spots on both the All-NBA[7] and All-Defensive Teams[8] and was selected for his fifth All-Star game. You can't dig yourself a hole, get down by 19 or 20 points and expect to win. Marv Albert provided play-by-play calling. [23] Back in Sacramento for Game 5, the Kings staged some late-game heroics of their own as Mike Bibby nailed a jumper with 8.2 seconds remaining, giving his team not only a 92â91 win, but a 3â2 series advantage. From that point on, the Nets went on a 17â6 run to close the lead to a respectable 12. Tracy Lamar McGrady Jr. (born May 24, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player, best known for his career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). They had no answer for O'Neal, however, who had bullied MacCulloch into 16 points and 6 rebounds by half-time. All times listed below are Eastern Daylight Time. 4 (3) Los Angeles Lakers-0. Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Walton and Steve "Snapper" Jones handled color duties. [37] As of 2018[update], the Lakers are the last team to pull off a 'three-peat' in North American professional sports. The nearby Anaheim Angels would later claim their first World Series championship four months later. ... 2002-03 Player Statistics. the official stats partner of the NBA. [35] The successes of Los Angeles area teams led Sporting News magazine to declare Anaheim/Los Angeles as "Best Sports City" in 2003. [19] Since Phil Jackson had arrived to coach the Lakers in 1999, they had a 123â41 mark in the regular season and a 28â9 record in the postseason. Shaquille O'Neal, who averaged 36 points and 12 rebounds in the Finals, was named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player. In addition, Los Angeles was coming off of a 15â1 (.938 winning percentage) run through the 2001 NBA Playoffs, the greatest in NBA history, besting the 1983 Philadelphia 76ers' 12â1 (.923) run and were the first team to go undefeated on the road in the playoffs. The Nets outscored the Lakers in the third but stood steadfast as Bryant scored 11 of his 22 in the third. 2002 NBA Playoff Series 2002 Western Conference Finals During the offseason, the Nets acquired All-Star center Dikembe … 2002 NBA Eastern Conference First Round 76ers vs. Celtics League Champion: Los Angeles Lakers. The 2002 NBA playoffs were the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2001–02 season.This was the final postseason that held a best-of-5 first-round series; the 2003 NBA Playoffs saw those series expand to a best-of-7 format. The last time this occurred was in 1988, when the Lakers won that year's NBA Finals in June; the Dodgers followed suit with a World Series victory four months later. Taking advantage of a late arrival to the arena by New Jersey, L.A. dominated the first 17 minutes of play with a 42â19 score by the 6:41 mark in the second quarter. 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