[0] TOO TALL AN ORDER MOURNING AND MIAMI MAKE MOST OF SHAQ-LESS SITUATION MIAMI 102, LAKERS 96.Byline: Howard Beck Staff Writer Somewhere, in spacious living room in Beverly Hills Beverly Hills, city (1990 pop. 31,971), Los Angeles co., S Calif., completely surrounded by the city of Los Angeles; inc. 1914. The largely residential city is home to many motion-picture and television personalities. , 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). must have been tempted to punch a hole in his large-screen television. Or at least, swing hard and flick the side of it. Nothing Brad Miller Brad Miller can refer to any of several people:
Preying on the Lakers' weakened middle, and softish defense, the Heat scored 100 points for the first time in 36 games this season and sent the Lakers to a 102-96 loss, their third in four games. While O'Neal served the second of a three-game suspension for swinging at Miller, Alonzo Mourning Alonzo Harding Mourning, Jr. (born February 8 1970, in Chesapeake, Virginia) is an American professional basketball player currently with the NBA's Miami Heat. He is also known simply as "Zo". Playing at center, he is tall, and weighs 261 lb (0 kg). abused his stand-ins and scored a season-high 28 points. 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. , unable to duplicate his fabulous efforts of Monday night,scored 29 points but was 12 for 30 from the field and missed a pair of 3-pointers in the final minute. In falling to the Heat, the Lakers accomplished a dubious feat for a front-running team. They've now lost to the last-place team in every division of the NBA NBA abbr. 1. National Basketball Association 2. National Boxing Association NBA (US) n abbr (= National Basketball Association) → Basketball-Dachverband (= . They already had lost road games to Golden State (Pacific), Memphis (Midwest) and Chicago (Central), each of which was mired mire n. 1. An area of wet, soggy, muddy ground; a bog. 2. Deep slimy soil or mud. 3. A disadvantageous or difficult condition or situation: the mire of poverty. v. in last at the time the Lakers played them. Against a punchless team that, incredibly, hadn't broken the 100-point barrier all season, the Lakers didn't figure to get embroiled em·broil tr.v. em·broiled, em·broil·ing, em·broils 1. To involve in argument, contention, or hostile actions: "Avoid . . . in a scoring contest, much less lose. ``I think we should try and let them score 100 points and play a Paul Westhead-type of game,'' 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. joked before tipoff, before the Heat rolled up 60 points in the first half. The Lakers didn't take their first lead of the game until 6:31 remained in the game, when Bryant tipped in a rebound to give the Lakers an 87-86 edge. A 9-0 Lakers run gave them their largest lead of the night, 92-86. But the Heat answered back quickly, with a 12-4 run that gave Miami the lead for good. Mourning hit a 14-footer to tie the game at 96 with 1:39 remaining, and the Lakers never scored again. Free throws from Jimmy Jackson and Rod Strickland made it a 100-96 game with 18.2 seconds to go, and the Lakers' best chance to stay alive died on a missed 3-pointer from Bryant. After scoring a career-high 56 points Monday night against Memphis, Bryant struggled with his shot against Miami. ``This is a difficult team to do a lot of individual scoring over,'' Jackson said before the game. ``They're going to dedicate a lot of people to the defense, and defending (Bryant) particularly. And their defense is not poor. So if he hits jumpers, he can still score a lot of points.'' The Heat entered the game as the league's worst offensive team, but emerged from the first half resembling the NBA's version of the St. Louis Rams The Heat made 55.3 percent of its field goals and set season highs for points in a quarter (39 in the first) and points in a half on the way to a 60-48 halftime lead. The Lakers trailed by as many as 24 points, their largest deficit this season. In another first this season, the Staples Center crowd turned on the Lakers, dousing them with boos. But the Lakers finally returned fire, closing out the half with a 19-7 run that made it respectable at halftime, and gave them hope for the second half. Their last nine points came on 3-pointers, two by Derek Fisher and one by Devean George at the buzzer. Mourning, coping with a kidney ailment ail·ment n. A physical or mental disorder, especially a mild illness. and no longer a dominant player, scored 17 points in the first half, two points better than his per-game average. Without O'Neal, the Lakers are unusually vulnerable in the middle, and Jackson said Mourning, even now, ranks among the top centers in the East, behind Dikembe Mutombo, Jermaine O'Neal and Elden Campbell. ``He looked pretty good the last game they played,'' Jackson said. ``I thought he looked active, very physical. He looked like he lasted the game, made it through the game with some energy. ``I think he has that tenacity, that he wants to block everything that's going to the basket,'' Jackson said. CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: (color) Kobe Bryant follows through on a fastbreak dunk shot during the Lakers' game with Miami on Wednesday night. Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer Box: GAME RECAP |
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