PHILADELPHIA -- Turns out, Kobe Bryant was all wrong. The road to the NBA championship didn't go through Los Angeles after all.

Bryant's Lakers never even had to leave the City of Brotherly Love to successfully defend their crown because path to postseason history went straight through the First Union Center -- and the Liberty Bell-sized hearts of the Philadelphia 76ers -- in a title-clinching 108-96 victory Friday night in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.

In repeating as world champs, the Lakers recorded the best winning percentage in postseason history at .937 with a 15-1 mark. Ironically, the previous mark was held by the Sixers, who went 12-1 (.923) behind Julius Erving in 1983.

The Lakers also set the record for consecutive road playoff wins with their eighth. Their Game 4 victory tied the old mark set by the champion 1995 Houston Rockets.

O'Neal clinched the MVP award with 29 points and 13 rebounds, but it was Derek Fisher's 3-point bombing that completed the repeat. The point guard sank his sixth 3-pointer of the night with 52 seconds left to ruin another late Philadelphia rally, and finished with 18 points.

For the game, the Lakers made 12 of 17 threes, with Rick Fox (20 points) going 3-for-3 and Kobe Bryant 2-for-3 in adding 26 points. Philadelphia made just four of 15 threes in shooting 41.1 percent (37-of-90) from the field.

Allen Iverson, who left the game to chants of "MVP! MVP!" after picking up his fifth foul late in the game, finished with a game-high 37 points.

The Sixers placed an emphasis on a fast start after falling into double-digit, first-half deficits the past two games.

Larry Brown went with a quicker starting five, replacing second-year small forward Jumaine Jones with Eric Snow for a three-guard look.

The smaller lineup gave Brown the spark he was looking for as Philadelphia raced out to a 10-3 lead. It also energized Iverson, who hit four of his first five shots. Iverson's intensity, however, drew him into picking up his third foul with 42.4 seconds left in the first quarter.

The Lakers methodically erased a 27-21 Sixers lead behind O'Neal's inside power, Fox's hustle and some long-range bombing. With Iverson cautiously avoiding his fourth foul, Los Angeles built a 49-40 on Bryant's first field goal of the game -- a wide-open 3-pointer with 3:43 remaining in the half.

Iverson had 19 points at the break on 7-of-17 shooting, but Philadelphia hung tough thanks to the rejuvenation of Tyrone Hill. The power forward had been having a miserable series, shooting just 30 percent and averaging 3.8 points a game, but he bounced back with nine points and 10 rebounds in the first half.

Mutombo added eight points and eight rebounds. However, he was often rendered helpless against against O'Neal, who poured in 17 first-half points -- 11 in the second quarter -- on 7-of-13 shooting to go with eight rebounds.

Bryant misfired on eight of 10 attempts, partially because Snow kept a hand in his face, but made six of seven from the line for 11 points in the first half.

The Lakers shot just 38.1 percent in the first half on 16-of-42 shooting but hit six of nine 3-pointers to take a 52-48 halftime lead. Fox and Fisher each had two threes, Fox scoring 11 points. The Sixers made only one of six threes in shooting 44.4 percent from the field (20-of-45).

Iverson missed six of his next eight shots after picking up his third foul. He was just 8-for-20 from the floor when the Lakers took a 66-55 lead in the third period on Bryant's hanging, double-clutch drive. The league MVP buried a 3-pointer and a long two in Fisher's face to cut L.A.'s lead to 67-62.

After Snow's jumper brought Philly within 70-64, the Lakers put the series away with a quarter-closing 13-4 run. Los Angeles scored on five straight trips down the floor, getting to the line on the first four before Fisher sank a 3-pointer for a 78-66 lead.

Meanwhile, Philly's frustration was mounting. After Rodney Buford (yes, he got into the game) knocked Fox to the floor with an elbow for an offensive foul, Iverson was whistled for his fourth foul when he pushed off Fisher with his right arm.

Iverson's driving jumper cut the gap to 93-82 and force a Lakers timeout with 5:48 remaining. After Fisher's fifth 3-pointer of the night pushed L.A. out to a 96-84 lead, Iverson responded with a three to keep the Sixers' comeback hopes alive at 96-87.

O'Neal fouled out Geiger and Mutombo on back-to-back possessions, sinking one of two free throws each time for a 98-87 Lakers lead. Fox's follow shot put L.A. up 100-87.

The Sixers still refused to go quietly. Hill's three-point play made it an eight-point game with 1:51 to play. A free throw by Snow cut it to 100-93. But Fisher sank a 3-pointer to put Los Angeles up by 10 with less than a minute left. Even after Aaron McKie's 3-pointer made it a seven-point game again, Brown decided to take out Iverson and Snow to allow the soldout to salute them with standing ovations.