THE MOST GALLING THING ABOUT THE LAKERS WINNING THAT GAME: That friggin' Derek Fisher was the difference maker. Not so much the final shot--as Shaq said, it was lucky--but that six Spurs points were taken away after the fact by Fisher flops. Nauseating.

Plus the fact the Spurs got no help from the refs during their run in general. I was thinking as I was watching, if the Lakers win this series it will be through sheer NBA institutional inertia and the refs calling the games like they were when the Lakers were dominant. There is bitterness in what I write--oh yes.