Led by league MVP O'Neal, the Lakers won 31 of their first 36 games. They finished 67–15, the highest win total since they won 65 in the 1986–87 season. The eliminated Sacramento and Phoenix in the first two rounds of the playoffs. After the Lakers took a three games to one lead in the Western Conference Finals against Portland, the Trail Blazers won the next two games to force a game seven. The Lakers, who trailed by 15 points in the fourth quarter, would go on 19–4 run to tie the game and eventually win 89–84 to advance to the NBA Finals. In their first trip to the Finals since 1991, the Lakers defeated Reggie Miller and the Indiana Pacers four games to two win their first title since 1988. West retired from his spot in the team's front office after the season after a power struggle between him and Jackson over control of the team's operations. After the season, starters Rice and Green left the team, and Los Angeles signed Horace Grant.