Los Angeles ? Shaquille O’Neal simply wouldn’t allow the Los Angeles Lakers’ dream of a dynasty to die at home.

Carrying his teammates on his shoulders one more time, O’Neal had 41 points and 17 rebounds as the two-time defending champs forced a Game 7 in the Western Conference finals, beating Sacramento, 106-102 Friday night.

Shaquille O'Neal (34) and Kobe Bryant, lower right, visit with TV announcer Jim Gray after Game Six against Sacramento. The decisive Game Seven is today.

With everything from savage dunks and delicate hook shots to a string of 10 straight free throws, O’Neal wouldn’t allow this epic playoff series to end early. He went 13-for-17 from the line, not a remarkable feat for most players but an indication of just how seriously O’Neal took this game.

Now, it will end appropriately: With the champs matched against the NBA’s best regular-season team in a winner-take-all game on Sunday night.

Kobe Bryant had 31 points and 11 rebounds.

Los Angeles went nearly six minutes without a field goal down the stretch in the fourth quarter, but made 18 free throws over the final 6:21 to hold off the Kings. Bryant made four free throws in the final 19.8 seconds.

Without O’Neal’s dominance, Los Angeles’ hope of a third straight title probably would have died against another aggressive, uptempo effort by the Kings. Chris Webber had an outstanding game, finishing with 26 points and 13 rebounds.

But O’Neal scored 21 points in the first half, then didn’t come out of the game in the second half. Mike Bibby scored 23 points for the Kings, who knew all along they didn’t have an answer for O’Neal. Kings big men Scot Pollard and Vlade Divac both fouled out, and Sacramento was forced to use Lawrence Funderburke in the fourth quarter.

Lakers 106, Kings 102

SACRAMENTO (102)

Turkoglu 3-9 5-6 12, Webber 12-22 2-5 26, Divac 5-16 1-1 12, Christie 2-6 0-0 5, Bibby 7-20 7-8 23, Stojakovic 4-8 1-3 10, B.Jackson 4-7 0-0 10, Pollard 1-4 0-0 2, Funderburke 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 38-92 18-25 102.

L.A. LAKERS (106)

Fox 3-7 4-4 11, Horry 2-5 3-4 8, O’Neal 14-25 13-17 41, Bryant 10-20 11-11 31, Fisher 2-5 0-0 5, Hunter 1-4 0-0 3, Shaw 2-5 0-0 4, George 0-1 1-2 1, Walker 0-1 2-2 2, Medvedenko 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 34-74 34-40 106.

Sacramento 26 30 19 27 102

L.A. Lakers 28 23 24 31 106

3-Point GoalsSacramento 8-19 (B.Jackson 2-2, Bibby 2-6, Divac 1-2, Stojakovic 1-3, Christie 1-3, Turkoglu 1-3), L.A. Lakers 4-15 (Hunter 1-2, Fisher 1-3, Horry 1-4, Fox 1-4, Shaw 0-2). Fouled outDivac, Pollard. ReboundsSacramento 54 (Webber 13), L.A. Lakers 53 (O’Neal 17). AssistsSacramento 23 (Webber 8), L.A. Lakers 20 (Horry, Bryant 5). Total foulsSacramento 31, L.A. Lakers 24. TechnicalsSacramento Defensive Three Second, Webber, Divac, George. A18,997 (18,997).