2001 NBA Finals

2001 NBA Finals

Team Coach Wins Los Angeles Lakers Phil Jackson 4 Philadelphia 76ers Larry Brown 1
Dates	June 6–15
MVP	Shaquille O'Neal (Los Angeles Lakers)
Television	NBC (U.S.)
Announcers	Marv Albert and Doug Collins
Radio network	ESPN
Announcers	Brent Musburger and Jack Ramsay
Referees
Game 1: Dick Bavetta, Ron Garretson, Joe Crawford Game 2: Steve Javie, Bernie Fryer, Ronnie Nunn Game 3: Bennett Salvatore, Bob Delaney, Dan Crawford Game 4: Hugh Evans, Jack Nies, Eddie F. Rush Game 5: Dick Bavetta, Bernie Fryer, Joe Crawford
Hall of Famers	76ers: Dikembe Mutombo (2015) Coaches: Larry Brown (2002) Phil Jackson (2007) Tex Winter (2011) Officials: Dick Bavetta (2015)
Eastern Finals	76ers defeat Bucks, 4-3
Western Finals	Lakers defeat Spurs, 4-0

The 2001 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 2000-01 National Basketball Association season. The Los Angeles Lakers of the Western Conference took on the Philadelphia 76ers of the Eastern Conference for the title, with the Lakers holding home court advantage in a best-of-seven format.

The Lakers won the series 4 games to 1. Lakers center Shaquille O'Neal was named the Most Valuable Player of the series.

Allen Iverson scored 48 points in his only NBA finals victory, as the Sixers took Game 1 in a stunning upset 107-101 in OT, handing the Lakers their first loss of the postseason. However, the Lakers went on to win the next four games, despite being outshot and outrebounded in the series. L.A. punished the Sixers with their excellent 3-point shooting which was the key to this series. In Game 3 Robert Horry hit a clutch 3-pointer in the last minute, and in the next two games the Lakers used hot 3-point shooting to build big leads and hold off late Sixer comebacks in Games 4 and 5, pulling away for double digit wins to capture the title.

Background

Main article: 2001 NBA Playoffs

The Los Angeles Lakers entered the 2000–01 NBA season as the defending NBA Champions. The club lost a few players to free agency, but they signed veteran players like Isaiah Rider and Horace Grant. The Lakers began the season struggling on and off the court, as they were losing games at the beginning with the Shaq–Kobe feud. Injuries also riddled the team as they struggled through the season. But by April 1, 2001, the Lakers last loss was to the New York Knicks and they never looked back as the team closed out the season on an eight-game winning streak, thus finishing the season 56-26 and closing out as the number 2 seed in the West behind the San Antonio Spurs.

The Lakers began the 2001 NBA Playoffs versus the team against whom they played the previous year in the Conference Finals, the Portland Trail Blazers. The Blazers were a team that struggled throughout the season but battled back to claim the 7th seed. The series wasn't close as the Lakers swept the Blazers by double digits in all three games. In the semifinals the Lakers took on the Sacramento Kings, a team who had also given the Lakers a tough series the previous season, but the Lakers took two close games at home and went to Sacramento to finish the Kings off with a 4–0 sweep as well. In the Conference Finals the Lakers went up against the number 1 seed San Antonio Spurs, who were expected to be more competitive than the Lakers' previous opponents. But the Lakers took games 1 and 2 in San Antonio then blew them out in games 3 and 4 in Los Angeles in another complete sweep as they became the second team in NBA history to sweep the conference playoffs at 11–0, the 1988-1989 Los Angeles Lakers being the first.

But the Lakers met a snag on their quest to the first NBA sweep in playoff history as they went up against Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia Sixers. The Sixers, seeded number 1 in the East, had just come out of two straight seven-game series. During the first game, the trio of Iverson, Dikembe Mutumbo and Eric Snow, coming hot off a long Eastern Conference championship road, beat the Lakers in overtime, showcasing their endurance.

The Lakers then took Game 2. Afterwards, Kobe Bryant was quoted as saying he was coming to Philadelphia to cut their hearts out. The Sixers dropped all three games in Philadelphia, giving the Lakers their second straight championship.

Road to the Finals

Main article: 2001 NBA Playoffs

Los Angeles Lakers (Western Conference Champion)		Philadelphia 76ers (Eastern Conference Champion)
Western Conference # Team W L PCT GB 1 z-San Antonio Spurs 58 24 .707 – 2 y-Los Angeles Lakers 56 26 .683 2 3 x-Sacramento Kings 55 27 .671 3 4 x-Utah Jazz 53 29 .646 5 5 x-Dallas Mavericks 53 29 .646 5 6 x-Phoenix Suns 51 31 .622 7 7 x-Portland Trail Blazers 50 32 .610 8 8 x-Minnesota Timberwolves 47 35 .573 11 9 Houston Rockets 45 37 .549 13 10 Seattle SuperSonics 44 38 .537 14 11 Denver Nuggets 40 42 .488 18 12 Los Angeles Clippers 31 51 .378 27 13 Vancouver Grizzlies 23 59 .280 35 14 Golden State Warriors 17 65 .207 41 2nd seed in the West, 2nd-best league record	Regular season		Eastern Conference # Team W L PCT GB 1 c-Philadelphia 76ers 56 26 .683 – 2 y-Milwaukee Bucks 52 30 .634 4 3 x-Miami Heat 50 32 .610 6 4 x-New York Knicks 48 34 .585 8 5 x-Toronto Raptors 47 35 .573 9 6 x-Charlotte Hornets 46 36 .561 10 7 x-Orlando Magic 43 39 .524 13 8 x-Indiana Pacers 41 41 .500 15 9 Boston Celtics 36 46 .439 20 10 Detroit Pistons 32 50 .390 24 11 Cleveland Cavaliers 30 52 .366 26 12 New Jersey Nets 26 56 .317 30 13 Atlanta Hawks 25 57 .305 31 14 Washington Wizards 19 63 .232 37 15 Chicago Bulls 15 67 .183 42 1st seed in the East, 3rd-best league record
Defeated the (7) Portland Trail Blazers, 3-0	First Round		Defeated the (8) Indiana Pacers, 3–1
Defeated the (3) Sacramento Kings, 4–0	Conference Semifinals		Defeated the (5) Toronto Raptors, 4–3
Defeated the (1) San Antonio Spurs, 4–0	Conference Finals		Defeated the (2) Milwaukee Bucks, 4–3

Regular season series

Both teams split the two meetings, each won by the home team:

December 5, 2000

Philadelphia 76ers 85, Los Angeles Lakers 96

Staples Center, Los Angeles, California

February 14, 2001

Los Angeles Lakers 97, Philadelphia 76ers 112

First Union Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Starting Lineups

Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame ‡

Los Angeles	Position	Philadelphia
Derek Fisher	PG	Eric Snow
Kobe Bryant	SG	Allen Iverson
Rick Fox	SF	George Lynch
Horace Grant	PF	Tyrone Hill
Shaquille O'Neal	C	Dikembe Mutumbo‡

Series summary

Game	Date	Home Team	Result	Road Team
Game 1	Wednesday, June 6	Los Angeles Lakers	101-107 OT (0-1)	Philadelphia 76ers
Game 2	Friday, June 8	Los Angeles Lakers	98-89 (1-1)	Philadelphia 76ers
Game 3	Sunday, June 10	Philadelphia 76ers	91-96 (1-2)	Los Angeles Lakers
Game 4	Wednesday, June 13	Philadelphia 76ers	86-100 (1-3)	Los Angeles Lakers
Game 5	Friday, June 15	Philadelphia 76ers	96-108 (1-4)	Los Angeles Lakers

The Finals were played using a 2-3-2 site format, where the first two and last two games are held at the team with home court advantage. The NBA, after experimenting in the early years, restored this original format for the Finals in 1985.

Game 1

NBC

June 6

Recap at the Wayback Machine (archived May 9, 2009)

Philadelphia 76ers 107, Los Angeles Lakers 101 (OT)
Scoring by quarter: 22–23, 34–27, 23–27, 15–17, Overtime: 13–7
Pts: Allen Iverson 48 Rebs: Dikembe Mutombo 16 Asts: Aaron McKie 9		Pts: Shaquille O'Neal 44 Rebs: Shaquille O'Neal 20 Asts: Bryant, Fox, O'Neal 5 each
Philadelphia leads the series, 1–0

Staples Center, Los Angeles, California Attendance: 18,997 Referees: No. 27 Dick Bavetta No. 10 Ron Garretson No. 17 Joe Crawford

The Lakers dominated early, in what looked like to be their fourth series sweep. Scoring 16 straight points, the Lakers took a 21-9 lead over the Allen Iverson-led 76ers. Despite this major lead, Allen Iverson began dominating at the half of the 2nd quarter scoring 30 first half points. The 76ers turned the game around and even went up by 15 points during the third quarter before the Lakers started a comeback. Shaquille O'Neal was a major factor in the comeback, scoring 18 points in the quarter.

The Lakers played fantastically during the 4th quarter, and Tyronn Lue came off the bench and limited Allen Iverson to merely 3 points and had 3 assists and 2 steals of his own. The game was eventually tied at 94, and when Dikembe Mutombo missed two free throws and Eric Snow's desperation three-pointer at the buzzer bounced off the rim, the game went to overtime.

The Lakers dominated for the first half of the overtime, scoring 5 points, but Allen Iverson scored 7 points, and Raja Bell came off the bench to score a crucial lay-up and Iverson hit a step back 2-pointer over Tyronn Lue which gave the 76ers a permanent lead.

Game 2

NBC

June 8

Recap at the Wayback Machine (archived April 1, 2009)

Philadelphia 76ers 89, Los Angeles Lakers 98
Scoring by quarter: 24–25, 23–24, 20–28, 22–21
Pts: Allen Iverson 23 Rebs: Dikembe Mutombo 13 Asts: Aaron McKie 6		Pts: Kobe Bryant 31 Rebs: Shaquille O'Neal 20 Asts: Shaquille O'Neal 9
Series tied, 1–1

Staples Center, Los Angeles, California Attendance: 18,997 Referees: No. 29 Steve Javie No. 7 Bernie Fryer No. 34 Ronnie Nunn

Kobe Bryant started off the game with 12 points in the first quarter, while Shaq scored 12 points in the second quarter. Despite their points, the 76ers kept a close lead as Larry Brown ran over 10 plays searching for the right quartet, and the fact that all the Lakers besides Bryant and O'Neal were shooting only at 27%. The Sixers were down by 13 in the fourth quarter, and were making a comeback due to Shaq sitting out with 5 fouls, which helped the 76ers to score 7 straight. Even though the 76ers were within 3 points of the Lakers, the 6 of 16 foul shooting in the fourth quarter put them behind permanently. O'Neal finished with 28 points, 20 rebounds, nine assists, and eight blocks, coming close to a quadruple double. Before the game, Lakers coach Phil Jackson had growled at O'Neal, "Don't be afraid to block a shot!" after O'Neal failed to block a shot in Game 1.

Game 3

NBC

June 10

Recap at the Wayback Machine (archived April 1, 2009)

Los Angeles Lakers 96, Philadelphia 76ers 91
Scoring by quarter: 25–25, 30–20, 18–21, 23–25
Pts: Kobe Bryant 32 Rebs: Shaquille O'Neal 12 Asts: Bryant, Horry, O'Neal, Shaw 3 each		Pts: Allen Iverson 35 Rebs: Iverson, Mutombo 12 each Asts: Aaron McKie 8
Los Angeles leads the series, 2–1

First Union Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Attendance: 20,900 Referees: No. 15 Bennett Salvatore No. 26 Bob Delaney No. 43 Dan Crawford

Game 4

NBC

June 13

Recap at the Wayback Machine (archived April 1, 2009)

Los Angeles Lakers 100, Philadelphia 76ers 86
Scoring by quarter: 22–14, 29–23, 26–22, 23–27
Pts: Shaquille O'Neal 34 Rebs: Shaquille O'Neal 14 Asts: Kobe Bryant 9		Pts: Allen Iverson 35 Rebs: Dikembe Mutombo 9 Asts: Iverson, Snow 4 each
Los Angeles leads the series, 3–1

First Union Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Attendance: 20,900 Referees: No. 25 Hugh Evans No. 35 Jack Nies No. 32 Eddie F. Rush

Game 5

NBC

June 15

Recap at the Wayback Machine (archived April 1, 2009)

Los Angeles Lakers 108, Philadelphia 76ers 96
Scoring by quarter: 24–27, 28–21, 31–20, 25–28
Pts: Shaquille O'Neal 29 Rebs: Shaquille O'Neal 13 Asts: Bryant, Fox 6 each		Pts: Allen Iverson 37 Rebs: Tyrone Hill 13 Asts: Eric Snow 12
Los Angeles wins the series, 4–1

First Union Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Attendance: 20,900 Referees: No. 27 Dick Bavetta No. 7 Bernie Fryer No. 17 Joe Crawford

Aftermath

The Lakers won their third straight championship in a four-game sweep of the New Jersey Nets the following year. The Lakers won 58 games in the season, then defeated the Portland Trail Blazers in three games, the San Antonio Spurs in five games, and the Sacramento Kings in seven games before sweeping the Nets in the Finals.

The Sixers would win only 43 games in the 2001-02 NBA season, as injuries were the story of their season. Nevertheless, they made the playoffs as the sixth seed, but were defeated by the Boston Celtics in five games. The Celtics themselves came within two games of returning to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1987, but were ousted by the upstart Nets, who made the NBA Finals for the first time, denying a possible Celtics-Lakers final. As for the Sixers, they would never challenge for the title again in the Allen Iverson era, with the team reaching the playoffs only twice for the next four years, winning only one series.

Larry Brown later coached the Detroit Pistons to their third championship in the 2004 NBA Finals, defeating the Lakers 4–1.

External links

• Official website at the Wayback Machine (archived March 31, 2009)
• "Take Two for Tinseltown" at the Wayback Machine (archived December 3, 2010) entry about Finals at NBA Encyclopedia
• 2001 NBA Finals at basketball-reference.com