Revenge for Peja Stojakovic, Jason Kidd
Peja Stojakovic, while playing for the Sacramento Kings, was knocked out of the playoffs for three consecutive seasons by the Lakers, who would go on to win the title in those years.
The Kings lost to the Lakers in five games in the first round in the 1999-00 season and were swept in four games in the conference semifinals the following season. In 2001-02, the Kings lost in seven games to the Lakers in the conference finals.
"It's nine years ago," Stojakovic. "We had our chance. It was very emotional for us over there, but it's been so many years we all have to move on with our lives and our careers. I'm a different player and that was years ago. I'm on a different team."
Jason Kidd lost to the Lakers in a four-game sweep in the NBA Finals in the 2001-02 season when he played for the New Jersey Nets. Kidd was also beaten by the Lakers in the conference semifinals in 1999-2000.
"I've been on the other end of a lot of losses against the Lakers and Phil [Jackson]," Kidd said. "So, it's good to get a win. It doesn't matter if you get to sweep the series or not, just to win the series and move on. This is a two-time defending champions that we beat and we have to use that experience and we can't have a let down."
Calvin Watkins
ESPNDallas.com
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Tim MacMahon joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009. Tim covers the Cowboys and Mavericks. He has covered the local sports scene from high schools to colleges to pros during his six-year tenure at The Dallas Morning News. MacMahon is a graduate of UNT.
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Marc Stein began writing for ESPN.com in 2000 and signed on full-time in 2002 as Senior NBA Writer. He also makes regular appearances on "SportsCenter," "NBA Shootaround," "NBA Fastbreak," "NBA Coast To Coast," ESPNEWS, ESPN "First Take" and ESPN Radio.
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TEAM LEADERS
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Dirk Nowitzki
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| OTHER LEADERS | ||||||||||||
| Rebounds | S. Marion | 7.8 | ||||||||||
| Assists | D. Collison | 5.1 | ||||||||||
| Steals | D. Collison | 1.2 | ||||||||||
| Blocks | E. Brand | 1.3 | ||||||||||
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