The Los Angeles Lakers‘ comeback against the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 7 of the 2000 Western Conference finals remains one of the most iconic in NBA history. The 16-point second-half rally was significant because it marked the beginning of a new era of Lakers dominance.
While several players pulled together to secure a ticket to the finals, Phil Jackson’s astute observation and adjustment kicked everything off. According to Brian Shaw, Jackson wanted the team to move away from predictability and play freely.
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“At the end of the third quarter, during one of the timeouts, Phil Jackson said that we were deferring too much to Shaq,” Shaw, who was a key Lakers reserve, said on Byron Scott’s Fast Break.” “He said, ‘You guys keep forcing the ball inside to him. They coming and double and triple-teaming him, so just go ahead and let it go.'”
Shaw led the fourth-quarter comeback
As dominant as Shaquille O’Neal was, he couldn’t do much against a triple-team. The Blazers had Arvydas Sabonis and Rasheed Wallace, so, at the very least, they had the size to match up against the reigning MVP.
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With pressure around him, O’Neal was not having a particularly good game in the sense that the Blazers limited his shot attempts by aggressively double-teaming him at every turn. Somebody had to make shots whenever he whipped the ball back out. Otherwise, the Purple and Gold had no chance.
Fortunately, Shaw was the first one to answer the call. He made a 3-pointer to cut the lead from 16 to 13 at the tail end of the third quarter. Shaw drilled another one to make it a 10-point lead, grabbed two defensive rebounds and forced two turnovers in several minutes.
All of a sudden, the score was 75-72, after O’Neal, Kobe Bryant and Robert Horry hit timely buckets to help the cause. Shaw capped his stellar run by burying another deep rainbow to knot the score at 75 apiece, with exactly four minutes to go.
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Jackson eventually subbed out Shaw in favor of Ron Harper as the Lakers punched a ticket to their first finals in nine years. He admitted he would have loved to finish what he started, but was glad it ended the way it did.
“I was pissed,” Shaw recalled with a laugh. “Ron Harper, when he came in the game, he looked at me too, like, ‘I don’t know what he was doing, either.'”
The Blazers thought it was over
In 2000, double-digit comebacks were a rarity, especially late in the second half. Fans occasionally saw such games, but they weren’t the norm. After all, the era emphasized a slower, grind-it-out pace that prioritized playing inside-out basketball.
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Considering this, the Blazers were riding the wave of a massive third-quarter run. They looked like they were on the way to finish the job, outscoring the Lakers 29-19. Portland’s players were actually already celebrating, thinking the game was in their pockets. For Shaw, it just brought back memories.
“They were woofing over on the side. Steve Smith, Rasheed Wallace and Bonzi Wells, when they were up 16, they thought it was over,” Shaw continued. “I had just gone through getting swept in the finals in ’95 with Orlando with Shaq. I remember looking at him and saying, ‘Damn, we gonna go out like this again?’ “
Thankfully, Jackson’s words opened up the Lakers game, especially Shaw’s. The Blazers thought they had slammed the door shut, but the Lakers found another gear. Shaw lit the game, and from there, the veteran reserve guard set the wheels in motion for a dynastic run.
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This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 7, 2025, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.