LOS ANGELES (ESPN.com news services) -- Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant look to lead the Los Angeles Lakers back to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1991 tonight when they try and close out the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals.

The Lakers took a commanding 3-1 lead in the series with a 103-91 victory over the Trail Blazers in Portland on Sunday. Los Angeles took both games at the Rose Garden after suffering a humiliating 106-77 Game 2 loss at the Staples Center on May 22.

O'Neal may have put "Hack-a-Shaq" on the shelf for good when he buried 9-of-9 free throws, scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in Game 4.

Bryant had 18 points and seven assists after a virtuoso performance at the end of Game 3 and Glen Rice made his first significant contribution of the series with 13 of his 21 points in the decisive third quarter.

"I think these two victories show a lot of confidence and we've gained a lot of character in a pressure situation," Bryant said.

The Lakers are without an NBA title since 1988 and lost the Finals in five games to coach Phil Jackson's Chicago Bulls in 1991.

Jackson was brought here to teach this team how to win in the postseason and is on the verge of fulfilling perhaps the most difficult part of that assigment. Both Eastern Conference teams still playing do not match up well against Los Angeles and many experts tabbed this series as the real Finals.

Rasheed Wallace scored a team playoff season-high 34 points in Game 4 to go with 13 rebounds. Wallace, who was ejected from Game 1 and led the Blazers to their lone series victory in Game 2, expressed his urgency after going down three games to one.

"It's do or die," Wallace said. "I believe in my heart that with the talent that we have in this locker room that we can pull it out. I am not going to give up. I am going to go down fighting until the last minute, last second has gone off that clock."

The Blazers last reached the NBA Finals in 1992 when they lost in six games to Jackson's Bulls.

Game 6, if necessary, will be in Portland on Friday.