SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- In the end, Mike Bibby wanted the shot.

Maybe he had seen something in Vlade Divac's horrible pass with less than two minutes in the game that resulted in a costly turnover. Maybe he noticed the uncertainty in Chris Webber, who nearly fumbled the ball out of bounds with just less than 15 seconds remaining. With his team trailing by one and on the verge of wasting yet another opportunity, it seemed Bibby sensed the nervous energy surrounding him and wanted the final shot to come from the calmest hands on the team.

His own.

"I told (Chris) if he handed it to me," Bibby said, "I would shoot it. And make it."

Taking the ball out of bounds, Bibby handed off to Webber and immediately got the ball back. And without hesitation -- and without a defender, as Webber's screen left Derek Fisher laid out -- Bibby let fly on a 22-foot jumper that carried the hopes of Sacramento's entire season.

Swish.

Bibby's willingness to take and make the last shot gave the Kings a 92-91 victory. Bibby's ability to shake loose from a three-point second half in Game 5 gave the Kings a 3-2 edge in the best-of-seven Western Conference finals. On a team with the best record in the regular season and including All-Stars Webber and Peja Stojakovic, here's the reason why the Kings are within a game of the NBA finals: Bibby's capability to step up his game while making his first postseason appearance.

	They Like Mike
	In what has become a recurring theme this postseason, point guard Mike Bibby is making the difference for the Kings. Jason Williams scored just 5.3 points per game and failed to shoot 30 percent from the floor against the Lakers in last year's playoffs, but Bibby is averaging over 21 points per game against the Lakers this season and is shooting 47 percent from the floor. Bibby has scored at least 20 points in four straight games against L.A., helping Sacramento take a 3-2 series lead.
		Williams 2001	Bibby 2002
	PPG	5.3	21.4*
	FG. pct.	29.2	47.0
	APG	2.8	4.8
	W-L	0-4	3-2
	*20+ pts. in 4 straight gms.

"Mike's a great decision-maker," Kings coach Rick Adelman said of his decision to put the ball in Bibby's hands at the end of the game. "When he got the ball and started the shot, I knew it was down."

Even with the shot, the Kings had to endure a heart-stopping final 8.2 seconds where everyone in Arco Arena knew that Kobe Bryant was going to take the potential game-winning shot. Challenged on his attempt by Bobby Jackson, Bryant's shot bounced off the rim.

"I told Robert Horry 'I'm not leaving you today,' and then I left him as soon as Kobe spun," said Webber, who had challenged Horry's last-second game-winning 3-pointer on Sunday. "Kobe made that baseline shot three or four times (in Game 5). Fortunately we had a good defender on him."

Even before Bibby's big shot, the biggest reason why the Kings were in position to win the game was because of an aggressive early-game strategy: attack Shaq. The Kings' drives to the basket early in the game resulted in O'Neal and Bryant getting three first-half fouls.

And the Kings kept up that strategy late in the game, executing a lot differently from Sunday when -- faced with the Lakers' overplaying the perimeter -- they settled for jumpers. And Bibby's decision to attack the basket when he saw an opening is what led to O'Neal's sixth foul with 3:22 remaining.

From that point, the game was Sacramento's to lose. O'Neal, who played just 14 first-half minutes, came alive in the third quarter when he scored 16 points on 8-for-9 shooting from the field. Every one of those baskets came in the paint, helping the Lakers go from 10 points down to a 74-73 lead entering the fourth quarter.

And in a series where they've made a habit of blowing fourth-quarter leads, the Kings stepped up over the final 12 minutes. They held the Lakers to just 26.3 percent shooting in the final quarter. And they managed to keep Shaq scoreless and without a shot attempt during the fourth quarter.

"You can't let him rest on the court," Adelman said of defending Shaq. "Throughout the series Vlade's done a nice job going at him, being aggressive. We want (Shaq) to make defensive decisions."

And, more and more, the Kings want the ball in Bibby's hands at the end of games. Despite recording just three assists, Bibby came through with another near-flawless performance: 23 points (nine of 17 from the field) and just one turnover. Without having to worry about Bryant defending him (according to Phil Jackson, Bryant said he didn't see a need to defend Bibby because Fisher was doing a decent job), Bibby scored 15 points in the second half -- including Sacramento's final four.

"During the season I had a tendency to sit back and watch because we have so much firepower," Bibby said. "Now I'm being more aggressive."

With one flick of the wrist, Bibby helped the Kings avoid another gut-wrenching defeat. And he put the team one step closer to a championship.

"Again, it comes down to one shot -- and we're fortunate Mike knocked his down," Adelman said. "It's good to get this one, we have two chances now. It's going to be a war on Friday."

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