Elliott Teaford of the Los Angeles Times reports that Chris Webber had a good game, but he disappeared when the Kings needed him the most.

Webber scored 20 points, took eight rebounds and had 11 assists in what otherwise might have been hailed as a fine game. Trouble was, Webber went ?poof!? in the second half. And the Kings did, too, falling to the Lakers, 112-106, in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals at raucous Arco Arena. In the second half plus overtime, Webber scored six points on three-of-10 shooting, took four rebounds and, remarkably enough, turned into a playmaker with seven assists. He took one shot in the third quarter, four in the fourth and five in overtime.

Webber?s problems started when Vlade Divac was whistled for his 4th foul midway through the third quarter. He went to the bench with the Kings leading by 7. Divac?s replacement, Scot Pollard couldn?t  contain Shaq as the Kings? lead dwindled. Divac returned late in the fourth, only to pick up his 5th and 6th fouls and leave the game. Webber then chose to guard Shaq.

"I think our big guys got in foul trouble and I started checking O'Neal," Webber said, trying to explain his sudden lack of shooting after halftime. "I'm not going to post him up. I'm going to try to move my feet and set up my other guys. It was working. It just didn't work enough."

Soon enough, Bibby became the Kings' only option with the ball. Bibby and Webber ran pick and roll after pick and roll, with Webber freeing Bibby repeatedly for open shots. Against increasing pressure from the Lakers, he kept hitting, scoring 14 of the Kings' final 18 points.

Webber was a non-factor, although he did make a jumper for the first points of overtime. Webber missed his next four, including a three-point attempt that could have brought the Kings within, 110-109, in the closing seconds.

"We're not concerned about who is taking shots," Sacramento Coach Rick Adelman said when asked about Webber's inactivity late. "That's for somebody else to discuss. Chris Webber was the reason we were here."