Schedule and 2002 Results
Regular Season Records: San Antonio 58-24, L.A. Lakers 58-24
Game 1 on Sunday, 5 May: S.A. loses at L.A., 86-pts-80
Game 2 on Tuesday, 7 May: S.A. wins at L.A., 88-pts-85
Game 3 on Friday, 10 May: L.A. wins at S.A., 99-pts-89
Game 4 on Sunday, 12 May: L.A. wins at S.A., 87-pts-85
Game 5 on Tuesday, 14 May: S.A. loses at L.A., 93-pts-87

SERIES NOTES: Post Game 5 assessment: Los Angeles hosts and defeats San Antonio 93-pts-87 to win their series 4-games-1. The win improves the L.A. Lakers' best-of-7 Qtrs-round Game 5 record to 18-4 (16-1 at home), while dropping that of the San Antonio Spurs to 5-7 (1-4 on the road). Those 18 overall wins and 16 home wins by the Lakers (while based in Los Angeles) are NBA/NHL highs in best-of-7 Qtrs-round Game 5 play. The Los Angeles Lakers thus improve their best-of-7 series record to 49-23 (21-6 in the NBA Quarterfinals; those 21 wins are an NBA/NHL Qtrs-round best), while the San Antonio Spurs' series record falls to 8-12 (6-7 in the NBA Quarterfinals). The win-order for the Lakers is WLWWW, coming one night after Sacramento defeated Dallas through the same win-order. So, the Lakers' WLWWW victory is the 14th in NBA Quarterfinals play, the 20th in NBA (all rounds) play, and the 58th in MLB/NBA/NHL (all rounds) play. The first MLB, NBA, or NHL WLWWW series was the first best-of-7 series in these leagues: The New York Giants defeated the Philadelphia Athletics WLWWW in the 1905 World Series. Post Game 4 assessment: Los Angeles visits and defeats San Antonio 87-pts-85 to mount a 3-games-1 series lead. The win improves the Lakers' best-of-7 Qtrs-round Game 4 record to 11-16 (10-11 on the road); those 16 overall losses and 11 road losses are NBA/NHL highs for best-of-7 Qtrs-round Game 4 play. San Antonio now has a best-of-7 Qtrs-round Game 4 record of 7-6 (3-2 at home). When leading a best-of-7 NBA playoff series 3-games-1, the Los Angeles Lakers have a series record of 24-0. When trailing a best-of-7 NBA playoff series 3-games-1, the San Antonio Spurs have a series record of 0-4. After three quarters, Los Angeles trailed San Antonio by eight points. In NBA best-of-7 playoff games from 1947 through 2001, when the road team trailed by eight points after three quarters, its game record was 10-56 (.152). Post Game 3 assessment: Los Angeles visits San Antonio and wins 99-pts-89 to take a 2-games-1 series lead. Los Angeles improves its best-of-7 Qtrs-round Game 3 record to 17-10 (12-9 on the road), while San Antonio's best-of-7 Qtrs-round Game 3 mark falls to 7-6 (4-1 at home; the 4-0 home record for San Antonio had been the best such record in the NBA or NHL). When leading a best-of-7 series 2-games-1, Los Angeles sports a 28-4 series record. When trailing a best-of-7 series 2-games-1, San Antonio has an 0-8 series record. Post Game 2 assessment: San Antonio defeats the Lakers in Los Angeles 88-pts-85 to tie their series 1-game-all. With the victory, the Spurs improve their best-of-7 Qtrs-round Game 2 record to 8-5 (1-4 on the road), while that record for L.A. falls to 17-10 (16-5 at home). When tied 1-game-all in a best-of-7 series, San Antonio has a 1-5 series record, while the Los Angeles Lakers have a 16-10 series record. Post Game 1 assessment: The Los Angeles Lakers defeat the San Antonio Spurs 86-pts-80 in Game 1 of their best-of-7 Qtrs-round playoff series. The win improves L.A.'s best-of-7 Qtrs-round Game 1 record to 19-8 (19-2 at home; those 19 overall and home wins are NBA/NHL high values). San Antonio's best-of-7 Qtrs-round Game 1 record falls to 7-6 (1-4 on the road). When leading a best-of-7 series 1-game-nil, the Lakers have posted a 40-7 series record; when trailing a best-of-7 series 1-game-nil, the Spurs have posted an 0-9 series record. Pre-series assessment: In the 2001-02 regular season, Los Angeles and San Antonio finished with identical 58-24 records, with L.A. winning a tiebreaker to earn home-court advantage. From 1947 through 2001, when NBA best-of-7 playoff series opponents had identical regular-season records, the team playing Game 1 at home has gone on to post a 6-4 (.600) series record in that series against that opponent.