LINDA STOUFFER, CNN ANCHOR: It was a pretty scary scene last night outside the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Thousands of basketball fans had gathered to celebrate the victory of their L.A. Lakers in the NBA finals, and the celebrations turned violent. We'll have that story for you in just a minute, but first we want to tell you about the game. The Indiana Pacers came out firing in game six of the best-of-seven NBA finals. They lead by as many as 12 points before the Lakers clawed their way back. Several Laker players came up big down the stretch, none bigger though than Shaquille O'Neal, who scored 41 points. He led the Lakers to a 116-111 win. O'Neal was unanimously named the championship's most valuable player. And while the Lakers celebrated inside, outside things turned ugly. CNN's Greg LaMotte has more on that.</s>GREG LAMOTTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is Los Angeles: a police car on fire, a news van destroyed, an SUV in flames, a blaze in the streets, arrests, police in a show of force. Why? Because there was a basketball game. What started off as a celebration suddenly turned insane. Thousands of people gathered around the arena to watch the game on an outside Jumbotron TV. For the most part, the crowd was behaved, but once the game was over, all hell broke loose. A limousine was attacked, so was a news microwave truck. A police car was set a blaze, so was a nearby Ford Explorer. It took police several hours to clear the area and restore order. In the aftermath, the appearance of a riot zone. The Lakers won, but Los Angeles took a beating. Greg LaMotte, CNN, Los Angeles.
Lakers Win NBA Championship and L.A. Takes a Beating