And better put those plans for a parade down Figueroa Street in Los Angeles on hold, at least for now.

For the sixth time in nine playoff elimination games this season, the Los Angeles Lakers came up short, losing to the Indiana Pacers 120-87 Friday night in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, trimming their lead to 3-2.

"We heard about the parade that they had planned." said Indiana's Jalen Rose, who scored 32 points. "That won't be tomorrow."

Actually, the word was the parade would be held Monday had the Lakers won Game 5. Instead, Game 6 will be played that night at Staples Center.

Bryant, the hero of Game 4 with eight of his 28 points in overtime, committed his fifth foul with 1:44 left in third period, and was forced to sit down.

Bryant, whose sprained left ankle didn't appear to be bothering him, wound up with only eight points, shooting 4-for-20 without attempting a free throw.

For some reason, Lakers coach Phil Jackson didn't remove Bryant until three minutes remained in the game.

"Kobe was game for it, but he just didn't find his shots or rhythm out there to play with," Jackson said. "They did a nice job on him and, you know, I'm sure he's going to admit that."

Bryant said he simply didn't have a good game.

"You know, you just bounce back," he said. "You just put it behind you and we'll go home. That's what we played all season for, to have homecourt advantage.

"We wanted to be champions tonight. It didn't happen. So we're a little disappointed, but it's no biggie when you think about it. I'm disappointed in the game I played, but you just put it behind you, move on and get ready for Monday."

The Lakers, who lost two games to Sacramento, another to Phoenix and two more to Portland once they got within one game of winning those series, seemed a step slow on this night, especially on defense.

Of course, the Pacers made them look bad by knocking down open look after open look, especially in the first half when they took a 64-45 lead. The Lakers weren't closer than 13 points in the second half.

Shaquille O'Neal, who has carved up the Pacers all series, had 35 points and 11 rebounds, but he got little help from his teammates.

"They just hit a lot of shots," O'Neal said. "We didn't play hard at all. I knew they were going to play inspired basketball for Larry Bird's last home game."

Indiana went ahead for good in the opening four minutes, and had a 19-point lead at halftime despite O'Neal's 19 points and seven rebounds.

In the first quarter, the Pacers shot 15-of-20 and were 6-of-6 from 3-point range in taking a 39-28 lead.

In the middle of the period during a timeout, the old disco tune Stayin' Alive entertained the Conseco Fieldhouse faithful, who went nuts.

Yes, the Pacers were definitely staying alive.

Before the game, Jackson admitted that with a 3-1 lead, it was difficult to keep his team from being overconfident, especially considering the Lakers haven't lost three straight games since the 1999 playoffs.

"You can talk about it, it's just difficult to do," he said.

Apparently, he was right.