"There's always conspiracy theories out there" - Bonzi Wells was worried that the league was against an Indiana-Portland 2000 NBA Finals

The Portland Trail Blazers battled toe-to-toe against the mighty Los Angeles Lakers in the 2000 Western Conference Finals. While the Lakers were the favorites, the Trail Blazers were trying to achieve the seemingly impossible task of ousting the Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal-led squad.

Pacers vs. Blazers in the NBA Finals

Bonzi Wells , the Trail Blazers swingman, tried everything he could to contribute to a Blazers victory. But in the back of his mind, he couldn't help but wonder if the NBA was writing a "script" that did not feature them in the 2000 NBA Finals.

"We were worried about the league letting us win, you know what I mean?" Wells said , per Bleacher Report. "Lakers are a huge market. Portland's a small market. Could you imagine a Portland Trail Blazers-Indiana Pacers final? I'm not saying they cheated us or nothing like that. But you know how it goes sometimes. There's always conspiracy theories out there. We were just worried about that."

While these are unfounded accusations, we've heard various versions of this before. Fans, on the argument that the NBA is a business, claim that the league hires "scriptwriters" to write a revenue-maximizing narrative.

At the time, the Kobe - Shaq duo was the most popular pairing in the league. Not featuring them in the NBA Finals would have cost billions of revenue.

Related: "I think he could play until he’s 50 and break both" - Erik Spoelstra likes to see LeBron James also break John Stockton's all-time assist record

Choking in the clutch

The Blazers entered the fourth quarter with a comfortable 13-point lead. It seemed that their fate was an NBA Finals duel against the Larry Bird -coached Indiana Pacers .

But the Portland squad suddenly couldn't make shots. They scored just 13 points in the critical fourth quarter compared to the Lakers' 31 points.

"We can't make a shot," said Blazers guard Damon Stoudamire. "So the momentum is just—you feel it swinging. And you feel the crowd kind of getting into the game.

"We didn't play poorly down the stretch," Greg Anthony added. "It's just one of those things, man, where we got great looks, we have more shots go in and out, and they just seemed to make plays after plays after plays."

The Lakers took advantage of the Blazers' struggles. Shaq, who was cold in the first three quarters, suddenly turned it up in the fourth. Meanwhile, Kobe remained aggressive and played within the system.

Role players like Brian Shaw and Robert Horry also knocked down timely 3-pointers to trim the lead and give the L.A. momentum. The Blazers went home defeated. Meanwhile, the Lakers booked a golden ticket to the NBA Finals and won it all.

Related: "To be honest, I don't regret it" - Rasheed Wallace on the Blazers' WCF Game 7 loss to the Lakers in 2000