Stifling defense, an offensive display from a rejuvenated Glen Rice and the unlikely 9-for-9 performance from the free-throw line by Shaquille O'Neal set the tone for a 103-91 victory in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals that was not anywhere near as close as the final score indicated. The victory was the second in a row for the Lakers in the Rose Garden -- after they were blown out in Game 2 in L.A. -- and gave them a commanding 3-1 lead going into Tuesday's game back on their home court.

Needless to say, the Lakers aren't lacking for the desire to end it all in Game 5.

"Hey, we're one game away from the big dance," said Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, breaking into a huge grin. "Our confidence is very high, particularly after coming on the road and winning twice. We know if we play right, we can put this away."

The Blazers already look done. Were it not for Rasheed Wallace (oddly enough a bit of a question mark coming off a sprained ankle in Game 3) pouring in 34 points and grabbing 13 rebounds, the Blazers could have been downright humiliated the way they collapsed in the second half. Excluding Wallace, the Blazers were 7-of-26 from the field in the final 24 minutes, and it required nearly 10 minutes of the fourth quarter until somebody else besides Wallace converted a field goal in the period. And by that time, the Blazers were 19 points down.

Like Friday night, Portland had a great start but blew five shots right at the rim in the first eight minutes of the game, wasting opportunities to build even further onto a double-digit lead. By late in the third quarter, nobody besides Wallace seemed to have the guts to take a shot, let alone make one.

"We shot ourselves in the foot early," Blazers coach Mike Dunleavy said. "All those opportunities early on we didn't make ... I don't know if that cut into our confidence or not. And that indecision at times ... cost us because we were going into rebounding position and not expecting a pass when somebody had shots they normally take."

And then there was O'Neal, who had 25 points, 11 rebounds and eradicated any possibilities of a Hack-A-Shaq situation by making all nine of his free throws after managing to sink just 45 percent in the previous 13 playoff games. Bryant said O'Neal was asking for the ball because he was feeling it. Afterward, O'Neal said he was "loose."

And then, as is his wont, he told a little story.

"My daughter (Taahirah) is 3 years old and I called her before the game to tell her I love her," O'Neal said. "And she said, 'Good luck, Daddy, and bend your knees.'"

Finally, he found a coach who knew what to tell him. But that was just part of this story. There was Rice breaking out with 12 of his 21 points in the third quarter after averaging just 12.9 during the playoffs and 9.7 in the series.

That was by design; Lakers coach Phil Jackson knows they will need him down the stretch as they prepare to close out this series and meet the Pacers or Knicks in the NBA Finals.

"We added a little wrinkle, with Steve Smith guarding him and running him off picks," Jackson said. "He's been an important part of our team all season. He has suffered not getting as many shots in the playoffs as he did in the regular season. He's a great shooter, and we knew we had to get him his shots."

Even though Bryant struggled early, he still managed 18 points, seven assists and four rebounds, while holding Scottie Pippen to 11 points (he did have 10 rebounds). Bryant and Ron Harper (also with 18 points and seven rebounds) made life miserable for the Blazers. Smith's 20 points were deceptive, if only because most were scattered through the first quarter and garbage time (with the exception of a big trey just before halftime).

The Blazers fed off the high intensity of the crowd from the opening tipoff, and Pippen was everywhere. He was on the boards, pushing the ball relentlessly, and kept everyone involved, with Smith, Wallace and Arvydas Sabonis draining jumpers. The result was a rapid double-figure lead that stretched to 12 midway through the first quarter.

Scottie Pippen and the Blazers are running out of time in the Western Conference finals. (AP)

But they just didn't have the wherewithal to take care of business again. And that will ultimately play out as their doom when the locals review this series.

The Lakers got back in the game at the end of the first quarter and into the second with a 17-2 run that included 11 points in a row to take a 31-27 lead, and the Blazers were coming apart before the eyes of their shocked fans. They went more than seven minute without a field goal, and until Pippen drove the lane with 6:39 left in the half, Portland had just two free throws to show for the second quarter.

Momentarily undaunted, Wallace went back to work, and Smith's 3-pointer at the buzzer gave them a five-point halftime lead. Rice scored the Lakers' first nine points of the third quarter, and when A.C. Green's jumper from the baseline went down at the just over four minutes into the second half, the Lakers took the lead for good.

The Blazers, with Wallace essentially playing 1-on-5, made one last gasp to pull to within 84-76, then the Lakers blew it open with Robert Horry splitting the heart of the Portland defense with a brilliant drive to the rim for a 3-point play. Add that to Rice and the unlikely scenario of O'Neal dropping free throws, as he put it, "Like Pete Maravich, you know, the guy from LSU."

And that wrapped it up, as Pippen finally quit whining to the officials in the second half but was never again involved in the flow of the game. All they can hang their season on is having won in L.A. in Game 2 and once during the regular season. But the way they've slipped in these past two games after great starts, things are looking pretty bleak.

"I didn't think that I was very aggressive today," said Pippen, 1-of-8 from the field in the second half with two assists and two rebounds. "It was the foul trouble that put me back on my heels and took my aggressiveness out of me.

"We realize we have to play well to stay alive. We know right now our backs are to the wall and we just have to fight and continue to sustain 48 minutes. We have yet in this series to go out and play a 48-minute game."

Well guys, 48 minutes are all you've got left. All the bluster and prognostication are worthless. In case you haven't noticed, the Lakers right now are every bit the great team they were during the regular season, and more.

Any more questions?