'PROUD' LAKERS TAKE LEAP DRAMA PUT ASIDE BY L.A. IN SIGNIFICANT WIN IN N.J. LAKERS 100, NEW JERSEY 83.Byline: Howard Beck Staff Writer EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - It was Shaquille O'Neal's turn again to be angry Sunday evening, as the Lakers' ever-spinning Wheel of Contempt landed on No. 34, granting him license to snarl and holler and act out in the name of pride and team-building. On a lazy evening at the Continental Airlines Arena, where desperate New Jersey Nets fans amused themselves with taunts of Rick Fox and Karl Malone A determined Gary Payton
On February's extra day, they caught a glimmer of the unity that propelled them to an 18-3 start so many months ago, before injuries eroded the good feelings. ``I think if we can play like this our last 24 games, then we're going to be a hard team to beat in the playoffs,'' said O'Neal, who scored 19 points in 31 minutes. ``I'm proud of everybody.'' So a weekend spent mulling the meaning of Payton's discontent, and how it would play in a locker room overcrowded o·ver·crowd v. o·ver·crowd·ed, o·ver·crowd·ing, o·ver·crowds v.tr. To cause to be excessively crowded: a system of consolidation that only overcrowded the classrooms. with uncertainty, concluded with the Lakers' most significant victory in nearly three months. Since a victory Dec. 4 at Dallas, the Lakers had won only three games against an opponent with a winning record, and it was Denver all three times. The Nets just recently were the hottest team in the NBA NBA abbr. 1. National Basketball Association 2. National Boxing Association NBA (US) n abbr (= National Basketball Association) → Basketball-Dachverband (= , winning 14 consecutive games. That mantle might soon belong to the Lakers, who have won seven of eight games since the All-Star break and nine of their last 11. For the first time this season, they have strung together five consecutive road wins, and despite the commotion over Payton's speech, the Lakers never looked more cohesive. Payton scored 10 points in the first quarter and finished with 16. 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. added 11 points and six rebounds and continued his run of brilliant playmaking with 10 assists, a mark he's hit three times in four games. Every starter but O'Neal took the entire fourth quarter off, so Payton got only 29 minutes, which under the circumstances was fine. Happy enough for a day, Payton declared a temporary halt to the playing-time debate but is keeping an eye on the next close game. ``We haven't had a game yet. We haven't had a game where it's crucial situation like the Sacramento game. Games like that, I want to be out there a little bit more,'' he said. A please O'Neal said: ``Gary played well, Gary had 'the face.' So I think y'all need to ask him questions about Phil (Jackson) every day, so he can have that face when he plays. That's the Gary we want and need.'' O'Neal had been muted for most of the first half, but got inspired after a run-in with referee Michael Smith Michael or Mike Smith may refer to: Journalists
n. Sports A foul, especially in basketball, that is called on a player, coach, or team for unsportsmanlike conduct or infringement of a rule and does not usually involve physical contact with an opponent during play. . ``Whatchama-call-him woke me up. The dude that gave me a tech,'' he said. Then came the dunks. In the second quarter, he took a pass from Bryant threw down a right-handed jam on Jam On is a Jam Bands radio station on Sirius Satellite Radio channel 17 and Dish Network channel 6017. It has featured basketball great Bill Walton hosting a Grateful Dead show, Woodstock MC Wavy Gravy, and pedal steel genius Buddy Cage as a DJ. Aaron Williams This article is about the American basketball player. For the American cartoonist, see Aaron Williams (comics creator). For the boxer see, see Aaron Williams (boxer). , then wrapped his legs around the Nets' undersized undersized see dwarfism, runt. center as he came down. Late in the third, Bryant and O'Neal connected again, on a lob with O'Neal moving left to right and slamming the ball through with his left hand. O'Neal jogged back upcourt staring in mock wonder at his left hand, absorbed a flying chest bump from Bryant, then resumed staring at his hand. The Lakers were up by 21 points, and ceding cede tr.v. ced·ed, ced·ing, cedes 1. To surrender possession of, especially by treaty. See Synonyms at relinquish. 2. nothing. Horace Grant Horace Junior Grant (born July 4 1965 in Augusta, Georgia) is a retired American basketball player. He attended and played college basketball at Clemson University, before playing professionally in the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he became a 4-time NBA champion. , who scored a season-high 14 points, celebrated with a few James Brown dance moves and a did a lip-sync to ``Baby, baby, baby!'' as the Godfather of Soul played over the public-address system during a timeout. Bryant left the team afterward to fly to Colorado for a two-day hearing that's expected to keep him from playing in Atlanta on Tuesday. But for a day, the Lakers enjoyed each other. ``They're playing at a high level and they know they are,'' Jackson said. ``They lost a game on Thursday night (to Sacramento) that they didn't want to lose. We feel like we're starting to peak in a position where we can think positively about our postseason.'' Howard Beck, (818) 713-3613 howard.beck(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: Shaquille O'Neal, right, blocks a shot by Richard Jefferson on Sunday in New Jersey. Bill Kostroun/Associated Press Box: GAME RECAP |
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