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Lakers can be crowned again tonight

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., June 12 (UPI) -- Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers can become the third Phil Jackson team to win three straight NBA titles if they beat the New Jersey Nets Wednesday night in Game Four of the NBA Finals.

The Lakers lead the series, three games to none.

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"I just hope that we can put one more game together and win this series in short order," Jackson said.

Bryant and O'Neal combined for 71 points to lead the Lakers to a 106-103 victory Sunday and the commanding 3-0 lead.

Bryant had his best game of the series, playing more aggressively on offense. He scored 36 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter as the Nets tried in vain to double-team the unstoppable O'Neal.

History is not on New Jersey's side. No team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win an NBA playoff series and the Nets are not expected to become the first.

"No team is going to beat us four in a row," Bryant said. "That's the way we feel about it.

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We're a confident bunch."

"We feel like we have all the answers for them," said Lakers forward Robert Horry.

At this point, the Nets would like to just avoid the sweep.

"It's hard to say you can come back from 3-0," said Nets star point guard Jason Kidd. "You can't really think about the 3-0 deficit. You can only think about Game Four. No matter what happens, we can' let this overshadow what we've accomplished."

New Jersey will try to avoid the first Finals sweep since 1995, when the Houston Rockets beat the Orlando Magic. If the Nets win Wednesday, Game Five will be in East Rutherford on Friday in the 2-3-2 format.

The Lakers beat the Indiana Pacers, 4-2, in the NBA Finals in 2000 and turned back the Philadelphia 76ers, 4-1, last year.

O'Neal, who was born and raised in nearby Newark, N.J., proclaimed before the series that he wanted to win the title in the city he once called home.

Last season, Bryant celebrated in his hometown when the Lakers won in Philadelphia.

Sunday's victory was a historic one for Jackson, who notched his 155th playoff victory, tying Pat Riley for the most in history.

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