PORTLAND, Ore. -- Just when you think the Los Angeles Lakers are bored out of their championship minds and are ripe to be knocked off their lofty throne, a game like Sunday afternoon hits you right smack in the face.

"You can count us out," Lakers guard Kobe Bryant exulted while marching to the locker room, "but we'll still come back and win it."

Kobe Bryant celebrates the Lakers sweep of the Blazers.(AP)

They won it this time in the most unlikely fashion against their always willing muses, the Portland Trail Blazers. Trailing by five with 39.9 seconds left before a Rose Garden crowd so excited it was ready to burst, the Lakers outscored the Blazers 7-2. The clincher was a 3-pointer from Robert Horry with 2.1 seconds left on the way to a 92-91 victory.

"That's my spot in the corner," Horry said. "When Kobe got me the ball, I was already square and ready to shoot. I'm just happy it went in."

It was classic Horry, with two championship rings from the Houston Rockets and two from the Lakers, being his ultimate clutch self. He was wide open in the corner because Scottie Pippen figured Bryant would go all the way to the hoop on Ruben Patterson.

"I thought Kobe had Ruben by a step, so I stepped up to close off the lane," Pippen said. "Kobe's a great player and great players make great plays. Robert just stepped up and made the big shot like he's done so many times before."

Being eliminated by the Lakers for the third year in a row was a crushing blow to the Blazers. They blew a record 17-point lead in Game 7 of the conference finals two years ago. And they were humiliated last season in a sweep that ended an 8-17 finish after having the best record in the Western Conference at one time.

"I don't know if I'm more disappointed for the players or all the fans that were here," first-year coach Maurice Cheeks said. "So much (negativity) was said about these players all year and we've stayed together all year. I really believed we were going to win this game. But you have to give the Lakers credit. They've been in these situations before and that's why they're the two-time defending champs."

The Blazers held Shaquille O'Neal to just five field goals on 11 attempts. Granted he did make 11-of-16 free throws and finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds. But O'Neal was more interested in talking about his series-high seven assists.

It was apparent from the outset, with four assists in the first quarter, scoring wasn't a priority in his mind.

"I came in with the mindset I was going to keep my guys involved," O'Neal said. "I told my teammates to give me the ball as though I was going to dominate and then I would distribute the ball. Today was an improvement because I only took 11 shots, and when I got to the line, I was the most successful I have been."

Along with seven consecutive playoff victories over the Blazers, the Lakers now have won nine consecutive road games in the playoffs; they haven't lost on the road since Game 5 of the 2000 NBA Finals at Indiana. They will play the winner of the San Antonio-Seattle series and will have home-court advantage.

A lot of what happened showed the growth of Bryant, who not only made the big pass, but nailed a wide open 3-pointer with 12.7 seconds, thanks to a screen from O'Neal that took out the entire East Side of Portland. Horry said during the first three months of 2001 Bryant would have forced the ball to the basket rather than trust him with the last shot. As it was, he still led all scorers with 25 points and seven assists.

"(It's) just growth, just maturity, that's it," Bryant said. "I realized that making my teammates better and hitting the open man in crucial situations was a weakness of mine. And folks could capitalize on it. By realizing I had a weakness, I decided to work on it and improve myself. My teammates were patient with me and it's paid off so far."

Strolling into the Rose Garden on Sunday afternoon with a 2-0 lead in the best-of-5 series, the Lakers brought the kind of energy that Steven Wright brings to the comedy stage.

They began the game slowly, but still managed a 50-41 halftime lead. Then they were even worse at the outset of the second half, missing their first 10 shots and getting outscored 18-3.

The energy for the Blazers came from everywhere, from Rasheed Wallace, Bonzi Wells and Steve Kerr, to the unlikeliest of candidates, Damon Stoudamire, the embattled point guard who is awaiting a possible grand jury indictment for felony drug possession. Stoudamire had a series-high nine points ... all in the second half after going 2-of-17 in the series until the second half Sunday.

And, of course, there was future Hall of Famer Pippen, who had 18 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists. He was bitter in defeat last season. This time around, he was unmistakably proud of the way the team hung in there, improved with Cheeks, and for all intents and purposes, should have won Sunday's game.

"I'm never happy to lose," Pippen said. "But losing and understanding why you lost is the difference."

Or, as Wells said, "We got better (although) we started out slow. We got swept, but we still feel like we made strides."

That's all that matters for them, while ultimately, the Blazers are nothing more than a fly on the mammoth shoulders of the Lakers. In fact, their intense style is great preparation for next Sunday's game at home against the Spurs, unless the Sonics overcome enormous odds to win the next two games.

"That was a very fortuitous ending for us," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "Portland played a great half. They had done just about everything they wanted us to do, including turning the ball over and missed shots, stop playing team basketball and moving the ball. They couldn't finish it off and we were fortunate to have a chance to do it."

Again.