IN THE RIGHT PLACE ... AGAIN.

Byline: Michael Rosenthal Assistant Sports Editor

Robert Horry was a perfect blend of lucky and good when the Lakers needed him most.

The veteran forward, known for being in the right place at the right time, stood just beyond the 3-point arc with seconds remaining in the fourth game of the Western Conference finals Sunday at Staples Center and waited patiently to make history.

However, three other players - teammates Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal and the Sacramento Kings' Vlade Divac - would touch the ball before Horry's monumental moment:

--Bryant. The Lakers' superstar guard was meant to be the hero. With his team down by two and about eight seconds left, he drove past Doug Christie for what a hushed crowd had to believe would be the tying basket. However, his short, floating shot over Divac bounced off the rim and into O'Neal's hands.

``I got a good look, it just went left,'' Bryant said.

--O'Neal. The Lakers' center grabbed the rebound to the left of the basket but what seemed to be an easy putback hit the side of the rim and bounced to Divac. Shaq could only turn and watch.

``Kobe went to the hole. I got the rebound. I went up, hit the front, Vlade tipped it out to Rob,'' O'Neal said.

--Divac. The Kings center reacted instinctively.

``I just knocked the ball out,'' Divac said. ``I thought time would run out. Horry was just in the right position.''

--Horry. The hero of the day positioned himself just above the arc to give Bryant an option if he was unable to get off a shot. He watched as Bryant missed and then O'Neal missed and then was surprised when Divac gave him a precious gift.

``The thing is, if you watch the play, I never moved,'' Horry said. ``I wanted a 3 so bad. ... Kobe missed. Then I thought Shaq would dunk. Then Vlade hit the ball right at me, and I was like, `----, look what I got.' It was a rhythm shot. It came to me, and I put it in.'' ...

Divac called it a lucky shot.

And while luck obviously played a role - after all, the ball bounced directly to a player noted for clutch 3-pointers - Horry couldn't agree with Divac's assessment.

``A lucky shot is one of those guys who has no form,'' he said. ``If you look at the shot, it was straight form. He shouldn't have tipped it out there. It wasn't a lucky shot. I have been doing that all my career. He should read the papers.'' ...

It would have been understandable had Divac been devastated immediately after the game. He wasn't.

``It's tough,'' he said. ``But we should feel good about ourselves. We worked hard, we played hard. That's basketball. Anything can happen. That's why I like to play basketball.'' ...

The fans weren't particularly hospitable to Divac, a once-popular Laker. Several times as he stood at the free-throw line, they chanted: ``Vlade s----! Vlade s----!''

A reporter asked whether that bothered him. He just smiled.

``No, it's just a game, just fun. I know they love me.'' ...

The Lakers were able to erase a 24-point, first-half deficit largely because of their defense and ability to hit shots. However, the first deficiency Kings coach Rick Adelman pointed out was the Lakers' edge in rebounding.

L.A. outrebounded Sacramento 56-42, but an astounding 25-8 on the offensive boards. Devean George, whose hustle helped spark his team in the second half, had a career-high seven offensive rebounds.

The Kings' Chris Webber has a theory as to why.

``They take advantage of two guys boxing out Shaq,'' he said. ``That leaves some angle (to the basket) open for the other guys. I have to give them credit, though; they attacked the glass.'' ...

O'Neal was asked how he might have reacted had the Lakers lost.

``I don't believe in `if,' '' he said. ``If my father didn't meet my mother and go on a date I wouldn't be here.'' Everyone in the room laughed. Then a thought came to mind. ``Thank God (Horry's) father met his mother, too.''

The Lakers' only lead other than the final score was 2-0. ...

Think the Lakers picked up their defense after the first quarter? The Kings shot 71.4 percent and led 40-20 after the first 12 minutes. They shot 40.3 percent and scored 59 points the rest of the way. Sacramento made 5-of-19 3-point shots but missed all eight in the second half.