LOS ANGELES - It's as big as any shot any Lakers star has ever hit. As big as Derek Fisher's flip with four-tenths of a second left at San Antonio last month. As big as Robert Horry's three-pointer to beat Sacramento in the conference finals two years ago. Bigger than Jerry West's legendary three-quarter court heave to force overtime against the Knicks in 1970 because the Lakers eventually lost that game. As big as Magic's junior sky hook at Boston Garden that propelled the Lakers to a championship in 1987.

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Kobe Bryant's line drive three-pointer that touched nothing but net on the way down with 2.1 seconds left is as big as any shot any Laker has ever hit because the Lakers were done without it. The Detroit Pistons, for a second straight game, outhustled and outplayed the Lakers through 47 minutes. They were less than a minute from going home with a 2-0 lead to play three consecutive games at The Palace in suburban Detroit. You know how many teams have ever won after going down 0-2 in the championship series? None.

Then the big stars did what big stars are supposed to do: Shaq scored a basket and made the foul shot, and Bryant dribbled left, rose over Rip Hamilton and drained a three-pointer to tie the game and take it into overtime. I'm loathe to say it, and for somebody in his forties it's close to blaspheme, but Michael Jordan rarely delivered any better than Kobe did here in Game 2.

Kobe and Shaq scored those six points in the final 36 seconds to tie, then every point of a lopsided overtime to win impossibly, 99-91. You don't see these reversals of fortune every night. It amounts to a grand slam in the bottom of the 9th to tie after being down four with two out and an 0-2 count. Only the greatest of great players deliver their teams the way Shaq and Kobe did in Game 2, which of course makes their bizarre, melodramatic season even all the more fascinating.

Just like that the series has flipped. Most folk expected the Lakers to win Game 2, but not like this, not having to come from so far back. Phil Jackson didn't even try to hide his hand before the opening tip-off. The Lakers had to make changes and everybody knew it. They couldn't have Kobe chasing Hamilton the entire game if the Lakers were to get any offensive efficiency from Kobe. His 10-for-27 shooting in Game 1 was more than circumstantial evidence that the Lakers didn't need him expending so much energy on defense.

Asked about that tactic before the game, Jackson said: "I expect we will have a chance. We like what Kobe did with Hamilton [holding him to 5-for-16 shooting in Game 1], yet we don't want to take away from [his] offensive game."

At the same time, the Lakers needed someone stronger than the aging Gary Payton to guard Chancey Billups. Payton has been as quiet as a church mouse lately; he even drew a $5,000 fine from the league for blowing off the mandatory media session on Monday. Perhaps Payton hadn't had enough time to come up with an explanation for his pathetic showing in Game 1. Either way, when Billups dribbled into the front court early, he was picked up by Kobe, who is 6-6, then Devean George, who is 6-8.

Larry Brown knew those kinds of change-ups were coming. "We respect Phil and the Lakers and we expect them playing a great game," Brown had said. "They have bounced back every time they have had some adversity, and if we don't expect the best from them tonight, you know we're in trouble. I just know they will play better. I watched them play every game in the series prior to ours [against Minnesota].They have a coach who has won nine championships and has figured out ways to get his team ready to play."

Even more than strategic adjustments, though, Jackson was worried about physical and psychological adjustments. Jackson hated that his team played Game 1 without what he thought was the requisite energy output, and was ready to resort to extreme measures to make sure that didn't happen again. "It's been one of the trademarks of this of this basketball club," Jackson said, "that I've always harped on the third quarter, coming back [after halftime] and re-igniting the game, start the momentum again and we didn't."

Jackson was annoyed that there were "no initiators" in terms of injecting some energy into the team. Why the Lakers need energizing in the middle of championship games seems strange to most of us, but Dr. Phil recognized the symptoms of lethargy rather easily. So in the first quarter of Game 2 he went to the bullpen and got rookie Luke Walton and second-year guard Kareem Rush on the floor. Walton, in his first minute of play, scored on a driving layup, drew a charging foul from Corliss Williamson, and fired a pass out to Rush for a three-pointer.

With Karl Malone still struggling with an injured knee, Jackson stayed with Walton in the second quarter, and his three-pointer put the Lakers ahead, 24-22. Walton is one of those players who probably couldn't be a star, and couldn't be a big numbers producer on any team. But he grew up around the game, much the way Peyton Manning grew up around pro football. And Walton understands the impact of subtle contribution, of blocking out and hitting the open man. And in 12 minutes off the bench before halftime, Walton made contributions subtle and obvious. He made all three of his shots, handed out five assists and grabbed three rebounds.

Walton's energy and efficiency, and Malone's willingness to compete despite being in pain and almost completely immobile certainly played a part in the inspired way the Lakers played. And by the time Walton had played 15 minutes, he had seven assists, including the entry pass to Kobe that put the Lakers ahead 75-71 four minutes into the fourth quarter.

And of course, the Lakers needed every positive play imaginable, from stars or subs, because the Pistons went about Game 2 as if they were playing with house money. Billups scored 16 points in the fourth quarter to turn an 11-point deficit into a tight, back-and-forth fight that ultimately produced one of the most dramatic shots in NBA history, and one that crushed the Pistons, who instead of thinking about closing this series out in Detroit, now have to figure out a way to gather themselves between now and Thursday night.

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