The city erupted! Red and blue fans faced off in the streets before a do-or-die battle at the Staples Center.
Game 6 of the 2000 NBA Finals was set to take place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
The showdown the American media had dubbed the "clash of the century" had finally arrived, with the whole nation watching.
Los Angeles, a city steeped in Lakers history, had plunged into basketball fever from the break of dawn.
Purple-and-gold jerseys, flags, and graffiti were everywhere, from major roads to back alleys.
Billboards along the main roads, high-rise facades, and bus stops had all been covered with Lakers Finals posters.
Bars, gyms, and restaurants across the city played highlights of the Lakers' Game 5 comeback on a loop.
Every Lakers fan in Los Angeles burned with hope that their team could come back from the brink.
After falling behind 3–1 and winning Game 5 to stay alive, the Lakers carried the hopes of the entire city.
Countless fans believed the Staples Center would be the site of a miracle tonight.
At three in the afternoon, the game was still three full hours away.
Yet the entire block around the Staples Center was already packed solid.
Tens of thousands of Lakers fans had descended on the arena, surrounding it several rows deep.
Fans in Kobe's number 8 jersey and O'Neal's number 34 jersey filled the streets as far as the eye could see.
Some held up enormous banners reading "Believe in the Purple and Gold! Come Back and Build a Dynasty!" as chants rose all around them.
Others waved purple-and-gold flags and sang Lakers fight songs together, sending the atmosphere through the roof.
Countless younger fans held posters of the OK Duo, their eyes blazing as they waited for the comeback to unfold.