The Pacers helped make Game 4 of the NBA Finals a riveting spectacle, maybe the league's best game since Michael Jordan hit his last shot to win the Chicago Bulls' sixth championship.

But the Pacers' bare feet was their inability to coax Lakers center Shaquille O'Neal into fouling out of the game.

For almost 10 minutes, O'Neal played with five fouls before finally fouling out with 2:33 left in overtime. It was the first time in the playoffs that Shaq had fouled out, but it should have happened sooner. If it had, the Pacers would be tied 2-2 in the NBA Finals instead of facing a 3-1 deficit after Wednesday's 120-118 loss.

With 7:32 left in the fourth quarter, O'Neal charged into Sam Perkins in the post, getting called for his fifth foul. The Pacers led by three points at the time.

But O'Neal went on to score 12 of his game-high 36 points before leaving the game. Kobe Bryant is justifiably being celebrated for delivering in the clutch. But maybe it shouldn't have come to that.

"I don't know if we made as much of a conscious effort as we should have to go at him," Jackson said of O'Neal. "We pretty much let them off the hook. He should have been out long before that."

Pacers forward Dale Davis, a man of fewer words than Jackson, sounded the same theme.

"I thought we probably should have went after him more," Davis said.

The atmosphere in the Pacers' locker room was somber but not angry. They played well, shooting 50 percent and finally getting something from 7-foot-4 center Rik Smits other than quotes for the Dutch-speaking media. These weren't college kids losing a heartbreaker in the NCAA Tournament. They were veterans who knew they couldn't have done much more than they did.

Reggie Miller had a chance at the potential game-winning shot. He missed.

The Pacers wanted to get the ball to Miller off a double screen and let him decide what to do next. Whether it was a game-tying two-pointer or a game-winning 3-pointer was up to Miller.

"We got exactly what we wanted," Jackson said. "It worked to perfection. Reggie got a great look."

With Robert Horry leaping at him, Miller launched what could have been the biggest shot of his career.

"It felt good," Miller said. "What distracted me was when Robert Horry was running at me. I had to shoot it higher over his hand. When you do that, you probably have to shoot it longer, which I didn't. It was right on target. It was just short because I had to shoot it higher."

Shaquille O'Neal and Dale Davis both fouled out late, leaving it up to the little guys in overtime. (AP)

Davis watched from the bench, having fouled out late in the fourth quarter.

"It looked good," Davis said. "Reggie hits those shots time after time. He got a pretty clean look. I'm surprised it didn't drop."

Amid the talk about Shaq's foul trouble, the Pacers wanted to remind everyone that not having Davis, an All-Star, hurt them in the middle. The Lakers' final two baskets were tip-ins.

"If Dale Davis is in the game, they don't get those offensive rebounds," Pacers guard Jalen Rose said.

The Pacers are finished, of course. They might be able to put together a victory Friday. But two more after that in Los Angeles? Jack Nicholson will move to Indy before that happens. Now it's about pride, not a title.

"I feel the guys in the locker room don't want to see them celebrating on our floor," Rose said. "We need to win Friday and take it from there."

Jackson was defiant, as usual, although the undertone was clear to everyone in the room. The Pacers' run is over, and soon it will be time to figure out what happens to all the free agents on this veteran team.

"Those are the same people that said it was over before Game 1," Jackson said. "We don't pay any attention. It's a tough task, but one we're up for it.

"It's painful, but it's not over. It's not impossible to beat them three times in a row."

Here is a fact for Jackson to think about: The Lakers have not lost three consecutive games all season, including the playoffs.