Young, hungry Lakers poised to oust Spurs

San Antonio needs three straight wins to go back to the NBA Finals.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The youthful Los Angeles Lakers maintain they’re not close to being a finished product.

And yet, they’re one win away from earning their first NBA finals berth in four years, with as many as three shots at it if necessary.

In the process, they just might put an end to the San Antonio Spurs’ era of dominance.

The Lakers lead the Spurs 3-1 in the best-of-seven Western Conference finals, and can put them away tonight at Staples Center, where they own a 7-0 record in the postseason and haven’t lost since March 28.

And to think, just last May, after the Lakers failed to win a playoff series for the third straight year, Kobe Bryant was demanding a trade.

“We’re just learning as we go,” Bryant said Wednesday at the team’s practice facility in suburban El Segundo. “We’ve seen some dark days around here.”

Starting guard Derek Fisher and seldom-used reserve Ira Newble are the only players on the roster over 30, and Bryant and Fisher are the only ones with championship rings, earning them with the Lakers from 2000-02.

“We’re a tough bunch,” Bryant said. “I think we’ve grown into a tough team mentally. I think we’ve grown up. Quick learners — we’re all just intelligent idiots.”

Should the Spurs win Game 5, the teams would meet Saturday night in San Antonio. A seventh game, if needed, would be played Monday night at Staples Center.

“Down 3-1, we know it’s really hard to come back,” San Antonio’s Manu Ginobili said. “But we’re going to try. Of course, we still believe in ourselves. We’re going to have a shot. As always the next game is the game.”

The Spurs, who have won three championships in the last five years and four in the last nine, have all the experience a team could ask for, with Tim Duncan, Ginobili and Tony Parker leading the way.

“They’re the defending champions, and we’re going to have to play another good 48-minute basketball game in order to beat them,” Fisher said.

“We’ve been through tough games already in this series, and this game is going to be the toughest,” Lakers center Pau Gasol said.

The Lakers put the Spurs in a must-win situation Tuesday night by winning 93-91 for San Antonio’s first homecourt loss in the postseason after seven wins.