Led by league MVP O'Neal, the Lakers won 31 of their first 36 games.[159] They finished 67–15, the highest win total since they won 65 in the 1986–87 season.[159] The eliminated Sacramento and Phoenix in the first two rounds of the playoffs.[160] After the Lakers took a three games to one lead in the Western Conference Finals against Portland, the Trail Blazers won the next two games to force a game seven.[161] The Lakers, who trailed by 15 points in the fourth quarter, would go on 19–4 run to tie the game and eventually win 89–84 to advance to the NBA Finals.[161] In their first trip to the Finals since 1991, the Lakers defeated Reggie Miller and the Indiana Pacers four games to two win their first title since 1988.[162] West retired from his spot in the team's front office after the season after a power struggle between him and Jackson over control of the team's operations.[163] After the season, starters Rice and Green left the team,[164] and Los Angeles signed Horace Grant.[165]