[0] O'NEAL BLASTS OFF VS. HOUSTON LAKERS CENTER SCORES 41 POINTS IN 32 MINUTES IN WIN AGAINST ROCKETS LAKERS 114, HOUSTON 101.Byline: Howard Beck Staff Writer Somewhere, on a deserted street, in a no-name town with no electricity - say, in blacked-out Northern California Northern California, sometimes referred to as NorCal, is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The region contains the San Francisco Bay Area, the state capital, Sacramento; as well as the substantial natural beauty of the redwood forests, the northern - there's a blind, unconscious guy who didn't see this coming. But no one else, and we mean no one, could have missed it: the obvious, towering signs which stated, quite clearly, that 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). was about to lay waste to a team. Everyone, including the Houston Rockets and 18,997 people at Staples Center This article has multiple issues: * Its neutrality is disputed. * It may contain original research or unverifiable claims. * It does not cite any references or sources. , could see the destruction coming from miles away and the only thing left to do was watch. Feasting on an undersized undersized see dwarfism, runt. , injury-ravaged opponent, O'Neal pounded away for a season-high 41 points in just 32 minutes of play Friday as the Lakers routed the Rockets 114-101. So moved by his own performance was O'Neal that he finally ended a media boycott after nine games to enthuse en·thuse v. en·thused, en·thus·ing, en·thus·es Usage Problem v.tr. To cause to become enthusiastic. v.intr. about the game. ``I'm trying to get my game back to where it was last year,'' said O'Neal, who hadn't spoken with reporters since Jan. 10, when controversy flared surrounding his relationship with 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. . O'Neal's first 40-point game of the season came quickly and efficiently. He had 38 by the end of the third quarter and when he checked out for good, with 9:21 left to play, had made 17 of 23 field goals. Only two things stopped O'Neal from hitting the half-century mark: coach Phil Jackson
Philip Douglas "Phil" Jackson (born September 17, 1945 in Deer Lodge, Montana) is the current coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, an American professional basketball team. , who decided to rest him after establishing a 19-point lead, and his own foul shooting. Despite recent progress, O'Neal went 7 for 18 from the line. Such a game was not only predictable but inevitable, based on a quick skimming of the Rockets' Britannica-sized injury report: Hakeem Olajuwon Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon (born Akeem Abdul Olajuwon on January 21, 1963) is a retired Nigerian-American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). , out; Kelvin Cato Kelvin T. Cato (born August 26, 1974 in Atlanta, Georgia) is a professional basketball player. He is currently playing center for the New York Knicks of the NBA. College career , out; Carlos Rogers Carlos Rogers may refer to:
Taylor came down with a Shaq-sized flu the night before, leaving the Rockets without all four of their centers and forcing coach Rudy Tomjanovich to start 6-foot-7, 261-pound Kenny Thomas opposite O'Neal. But Jackson was assuming nothing, having seen his Lakers squander squan·der tr.v. squan·dered, squan·der·ing, squan·ders 1. To spend wastefully or extravagantly; dissipate. See Synonyms at waste. 2. many such opportunities this season. ``Well, (Jason) Collier got 10 points against us in limited minutes the very first time we faced them, so we're not taking anything for granted in this game, that's for sure,'' Jackson said before tipoff. ``The last two times we played them, they packed it in and made us attack from the outside. They haven't allowed us to get inside and find space on the court for Shaq,'' Jackson added. ``(Tomjanovich) will throw everything at what will stop the ball, that's for sure. Just survival mode. So we're going to have to hit outside shots to let him play and then the other end of the court, with the small-ball they play, it's going to put some pressure on our big guys to play the right type of defense, keep them on the outside.'' It all turned out to be much simpler than all that. The Lakers fed O'Neal often and Bryant did the rest, scoring 29 points on 12-of-22 shooting. Isaiah Rider pitched in 13 points off the bench. The Rockets kept pace in the first half with equal parts 3-point shooting and layups through a sometimes-shaky Lakers defense. But the Lakers blew open the game with a 32-23 third quarter. O'Neal went 4 for 4 and scored 13 points in the frame, and Bryant added 10 as the Lakers also held Houston to 40.9 percent shooting. O'Neal went over and through a no-name rotation of Thomases and Matt Bullards and Jason Colliers en route to a 25-point first half. With little resistance, he converted 12 of 17 shots and staked the Lakers to a 59-53 lead. The margin would have been twice as big if not for the Rockets' barrage of 3-pointers. They made 6 of 12, led by Francis' 3-for-4 line. In his two NBA seasons, Francis has had difficulty scoring on Bryant, but he finally broke through and the two matched each other, point for point in the first half. Each finished the half with 15 points. CAPTION(S): 2 photos, box Photo: (1 -- color) Kobe Bryant swoops past the Houston Rockets' Jason Collier along the baseline Friday during the Lakers' victory. John Lazar/Staff Photographer (2) Guard Ron Harper leaps for a rebound Friday during the Lakers' 114-101 victory at Staples Center. John Lazar/Staff Photographer Box: GAME RECAP |
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