|
|
|
|
|
|
  |
Lakers Cast Shadow On Sunshine StateOrlando Magic Can't Overcome L.A.LOS ANGELES , 10:51 p.m. PST February 25, 2001 -- Shaquille O'Neal says that his right foot is still sore. Try selling that to the Orlando Magic. O'Neal was at his dominating best Sunday with 37 points, 19 rebounds, six assists and five blocked shots in 42 minutes as the Los Angeles Lakers rallied for a 106-100 victory over the Magic. It was O'Neal's eighth game back since he missed six prior to the All-Star break due to a strained right arch. "Yeah, a lot, but I just saddle up,'' O'Neal said when asked if his foot still bothers him. "There's a reason why Shaq was MVP last year,'' Orlando rookie Mike Miller observed. The win was the fourth in a row and ninth in 11 games for the Lakers, who played without Kobe Bryant, the NBA's second-leading scorer, for the third straight game due to a sprained right ankle. By winning, the Lakers (37-18) moved within one-half game of Portland and Utah, who are a Western Conference-leading 20 games over .500. Brian Shaw added 20 points and seven rebounds and Rick Fox scored 17 points for the Lakers, who won despite making only 29 of a season-high 53 foul shots. "Well, that was a marathon out there, 53 free throws,'' Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. ``I can't remember when I have ever seen that many, at least since I've been coaching.'' O'Neal, who scored 17 of the Lakers' 26 points in the third quarter, was 14-of-20 from the floor and 9-of-21 from the foul line. In trying to contain O'Neal, the Magic used four players at center -- Andrew LaClercq, Don Reid, John Amaechi and Michael Doleac -- by the start of the second period. Not much worked. "He carried us,'' Shaw said of O'Neal. Shaw certainly did his share filling in for Bryant. Two nights earlier, in a 113-106 victory over Atlanta, Shaw scored a season-high 22 points. "It's about time that my shots started coming back around,'' he said. "It's unfortunate that Harp (Ron Harper) and Kobe are out right now, but I am just trying to take what's there for me. I am trying to get a nice little rhythm and keep everything together until they get back.'' Tracy McGrady had 25 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, and Miller had 19 points and eight rebounds for the Magic, who lost their third straight following a franchise record-equaling nine-game winning streak. McGrady was held scoreless in the fourth quarter, missing his three shots. "I did what I can do, they were doubling me, and I moved the ball,'' he said. "We came down, took quick shots, they came down and gave the ball to the big fella. There's just nothing we could do about that.'' The Lakers scored the final four points of the third quarter and went on a 14-3 run to start the final period to take an 85-79 lead with 8:13 remaining. Fox and Tyronn Lue capped the spurt with 3-point shots. The Magic drew within two points before Shaw made three straight baskets to put the Lakers ahead 94-86 with 3:55 left. Two straight jumpers by Doleac, who scored 12 points, drew the Magic within four before O'Neal made a foul shot with 1:30 left. Darrell Armstrong's layin with 1:11 to play drew Orlando within three, but O'Neal's baseline jumper with 53.2 seconds to go and Shaw's two foul shots with 36.9 seconds remaining clinched the victory. "We panicked a little bit in the stretch,'' Magic coach Doc Rivers said. "Shaq scored about 10 points when we should have fouled him. We're not big enough to play him in the half court.'' The Magic led 60-51 early in the third period before the Lakers scored nine straight points -- six by O'Neal -- to tie the game. McGrady's three-point play triggered a 16-7 run that put Orlando on top 76-67. It was at that stage that the Lakers came alive.
Copyright 2001 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |
