LOS ANGELES -- As Kobe Bryant drove down the right side and missed a short runner, Robert Horry never moved. As Shaquille O'Neal hit the side of the rim on a potentially game-tying lay-up attempt, Horry never budged. As Vlade Divac batted the ball away -- thinking he had crushed the Lakers' season -- he had no idea that Horry had his feet firmly planted at the top of the key, waiting to be a hero.

Horry's response, as the ball came right to him:

"Oh, look what I got."

Divac bats the ball three feet to the left of the key: the Kings have a 3-1 series lead, with a chance to advance to the NBA finals on their home court on Tuesday. Divac bats the ball three feet to the right of the key, the Lakers' chance to repeat is all but over. But Divac batted the ball right at Horry, and the guy the Lakers call "Big Shot Rob" calmly hit a 3-pointer that gave the Lakers a 100-99 victory.

	“	He shouldn't have tapped it out there. He should know -- he better read a paper or something. ”
		— Robert Horry on Vlade Divac

Backed against a wall after Friday's loss at Staples Center, the Lakers responded in coming back from 24 points down on Sunday to win the game on a last-second shot. In tying an NBA playoff record for largest first-quarter deficit to overcome for a victory, the Lakers have evened the best-of-seven series at 2-2.

Now we find out if the Kings have the ability to forget, and if they can pick themselves up after a lost opportunity. Now we find out if the Sacramento players have the intelligence to counter the adjustments the Lakers made -- most important was shifting Kobe Bryant onto Mike Bibby -- to get back into a game that appeared lost. Now we find out just how important it was for the Kings to finish with the top record in the league this season, as Sacramento gets two of the last three games on their home court -- if the series goes that long.

"We'll be OK," was Chris Webber's response, and he even cracked a bit of a smile as he said it. "We feel like we have a better team."

You won't find many games with more edge-of-your-seat drama.

This was a team starting the game shooting at an unbelievable clip (the Kings shot 71.4 percent in the first quarter), and this was a championship team responding.

This was Bibby doing pretty much as he pleased in scoring 18 first-half points, and this was Bryant throwing his heart into a defensive effort that held Bibby to three second-half points.

This was Shaq making two clutch free throws with 26.9 seconds left -- pulling the Lakers within 98-96, and this was Divac playing a near-perfect game until a missed free throw with 11.8 seconds left and the wrong decision to bat a loose ball away instead of grabbing it.

"I had Shaq on my back and I had no time to think, so I knocked the ball out," Divac said. "He tried to beat the clock. It's a lucky shot."

Say what? Divac must not have seen last year's NBA Finals, when a last-second Horry shot beat the Sixers. Divac must not have seen the deciding game in the first round against Portland, when Horry -- with several players on the Blazers bench yelling at him so closely that he could feel the spittle on his neck -- hit the game-winning 3.

On Sunday, as Horry got the ball, Shaq knew the deal. And Kobe, raising his hands while the ball was in flight, knew the deal as well. When Horry has a chance to catch, get the ball on its seams, and shoot -- let's just say it's a surprise when the shot doesn't fall.

"Lucky shot is a guy who has no form," Horry said, almost incredulously, when told of Divac's remark. "He shouldn't have tapped it out there. He should know -- he better read a paper or something."

Even in victory, there are still some areas that the Lakers need to address. Like how to get better production from Rick Fox (four points, two of four from the field) and Derek Fisher (nine points, four of 14 from the field). And how to play better defense at the start of games, to avoid the 20-point plus deficits that they've experienced over the last two games.

"They're a great shooting team," O'Neal said. "We can't fall behind like we've been doing."

For the Kings to respond, they'll have to find a way to get Bibby on track if Bryant is defending him. And Sacramento will also have to do a better job on the boards, where the Lakers were relentless in grabbing 25 offensive rebounds (which resulted in 22 second chance points).

"The game changed in the second half, there was a lot of physical play and I don't know if it wore us down," said Kings coach Rick Adelman. "Our guys did everything we did to win the game instead of rebound the ball. They got a lot of offensive rebounds."

And they got a huge break that led to Horry's shot. Asked whether he considered what might have happened if the ball had never reached Horry and the Lakers had lost, Shaq laughed.

"I don't believe in 'if', O'Neal said. ""If my father didn't meet my mother and go on a date, I wouldn't be here."

Later Shaq asked about the magnitude of the win, considering the Lakers were faced with the prospects of being in a 3-1 hole.

"It was a great day, a blessed day for us," Shaq said. "Thank God for Robert Horry. And thank God his father met his mother, too."

When it was over Big Shot Rob was asked where the shot ranked, among his many big shots.

"They are all great shots," Horry said. "It's like asking me which kid I love the best. I love them all."

Jerry Bembry is general editor (NBA) at ESPN The Magazine. He can be reached at Jerry.Bembry@espnpub.com.