[0] ALL-STAR GLOW FADES FAST; NETS' VAN HORN GROUNDS LAKERS : NEW JERSEY 106, LAKERS 95.Byline: Howard Beck Daily News Staff Writer The Lakers spent the early part of the week collecting All-Star accolades, and, on Wednesday, they took an All-Star break. One week too soon. They took the floor Wednesday night against the New Jersey Nets, their All-Star crowns still shining brightly and a trailer-full of higher expectations in tow. Pregame introductions were embellished to add the ``All-Star'' label to the descriptions of Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal (pronounced "shak-KEEL") (born March 6, 1972 in Newark, New Jersey), frequently referred to simply as Shaq, is an American professional basketball player, generally regarded as one of the most dominant in the National Basketball Association (NBA). , Kobe Bryant Kobe Bean Bryant (born July 23 1978) is an American All-Star shooting guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA) who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers. , Nick Van Exel Nickey (Nick) Maxwell Van Exel (born November 27 1971 in Kenosha, Wisconsin) is a retired American professional basketball player in the NBA. Van Exel, a 6'1" left-handed point guard, was most well known for his flashy style of play and his ability to hit critical shots during and Eddie Jones. Self-congratulations were delivered several times on the Forum's video scoreboard. Everyone in the building was pretty impressed. Everyone but the Nets and a precocious newcomer, Keith Van Horn For the American football player, see . Keith Adam Van Horn (born October 23 1975, in Fullerton, California) is an American basketball player who last played for the Dallas Mavericks. Van Horn graduated from Diamond Bar High School and played for the University of Utah. , who drove his rookie-of-the-year aspirations right through the Lakers' All-Star celebration in a 106-95 victory before 15,643. Van Horn scored a game-high 30 points, including 14 in the third quarter, dealing the Lakers their second straight loss. The Nets were unimpressed with their star-studded hosts, the fans were disgusted, booing loudly, and even the Lakers were outright contemptuous of themselves. ``Excuse my French, but All-Star status don't mean (bleep) if you can't back it up,'' said O'Neal, his 27-point, 19-rebound performance wasted. ``To be booed by your own fans, that's embarrassing.'' Worse, injury followed insult. Robert Horry Robert Horry (born August 25, 1970 in Harford County, Maryland) is an American National Basketball Association basketball player. Currently playing for the San Antonio Spurs, Horry is is known for his ability to make clutch shots in big games. left the game in the third quarter with an abdominal strain, and Nick Van Exel followed in the fourth quarter with a strained left hip flexor flexor /flex·or/ (flek´ser) 1. causing flexion. 2. a muscle that flexes a joint. flexor retina´culum see entries under retinaculum. . Both starters are listed as day-to-day. Horry's injury is particularly worrisome, considering the same ailment ail·ment n. A physical or mental disorder, especially a mild illness. sidelined O'Neal for 21 games this season. ``It's like rubbing your nose in it, losing your key guys,'' said Jones, who scored 17 points and didn't come out of the loss unscathed either. He injured his left pinky, but X rays came back negative in the Lakers' only good news of the evening. The damage was done way before anyone limped away, however. Trailing by two, the Nets used a 10-2 run to take the lead by the end of the first quarter, and the Lakers never recovered. They briefly cut the deficit to three points early in the second, then watched the Nets outscore Verb 1. outscore - score more points than one's opponents outpoint beat, beat out, vanquish, trounce, crush, shell - come out better in a competition, race, or conflict; "Agassi beat Becker in the tennis championship"; "We beat the competition"; "Harvard them 20-6 over the next five minutes to make it a 50-33 game. The Lakers had no answer for Kerry Kittles Kerry Kittles (born June 12 1974 in Dayton, Ohio) is an American professional basketball player who last played with the Los Angeles Clippers in the National Basketball Association in 2004-05. He was raised in New Orleans and attended St. Augustine High School. , who had a trio of 3-pointers and 16 points in the second quarter. A round of boos sent the Lakers off the floor at halftime, the Nets leading 57-41. The fans should have saved their breath; they needed it in the third quarter. By four minutes into the second half, the Lakers trailed by 23 points, 73-50 - a bad omen for a team that has not won a game this season after trailing by more than 16 points. They were done in by 21 turnovers, leading to 18 Nets points, and were outrebounded 49-47, despite New Jersey losing All-Star center Jayson Williams to an ejection in the third quarter. Williams was tossed after receiving his second technical foul. ``They are a good team. I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. whether they took us lightly or not,'' said Kendall Gill. ``This isn't the same old New Jersey Nets. Maybe they thought it was.'' They aren't, and Van Horn is a big reason - a nimble, hot-shooting, 6-10 reason - why. He hit 10 of 19 shots, including three of five 3-pointers, made all seven of his free throws and generally kept the Lakers off balance. Prior to tipoff, Lakers coach Del Harris made it clear the Lakers had a reputation to back up now that they had become the sixth team in NBA NBA abbr. 1. National Basketball Association 2. National Boxing Association NBA (US) n abbr (= National Basketball Association) → Basketball-Dachverband (= history to place four players on the All-Star team. ``Hopefully, our guys will accept the challenge of the All-Star label,'' Harris said. ``All-Star is a special thing, and when you take on that label it means you're going to strive to be a consistently good player. ``It's `All-Star.' It's not `sometimes-star.' I'm sure these guys will take that label seriously, and we will play All-Star-level performances as consistently as possible.'' Apparently, not all the Lakers got the message. They again shot poorly from 3-point range (21 percent after Saturday's 3-of-24 debacle), and again had trouble at the foul line (63.6 percent). That can't continue if the Lakers hope to avoid a prolonged losing streak heading into the real All-Star break next Thursday. The improved Minnesota Timberwolves arrive Friday, followed by the Chicago Bulls on Sunday and the Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers are a professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. They play in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The franchise, based in Portland throughout its existence, entered the league in 1970 and has won the NBA Championship once, in 1977. on Wednesday. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO (Color) New Jersey's Chris Gatling has the ball knocked away by the Lakers' Elden Campbell during the Nets' win at the Forum. Nets rookie Keith Van Horn had a game-high 30 points. Associated Press |
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