AT THIS POINT, CONFIDENCE IS NO PROBLEM : LAKERS 112, SEATTLE 100.Byline: Howard Beck Daily News Staff Writer One more win, and 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 Derek Fisher Derek Lamar Fisher (born August 9 1974 in Little Rock, Arkansas) is an American professional basketball player with the Los Angeles Lakers. He was with the Utah Jazz but asked to be released from his contract to care for his 10-month-old daughter, who has cancer. can shed those hideously hid·e·ous adj. 1. Repulsive, especially to the sight; revoltingly ugly. See Synonyms at ugly. 2. Offensive to moral sensibilities; despicable. high white socks. One more win, and the Lakers See Lake poets might not miss the ``Seinfeld'' farewell episode. One more win, and the Lakers might finally get to enjoy that well-worn, still-questioned label as the most talented young team in the NBA NBA abbr. 1. National Basketball Association 2. National Boxing Association NBA (US) n abbr (= National Basketball Association) → Basketball-Dachverband (= . The Lakers' 112-100 victory over the Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (or simply Sonics) are an American professional basketball team based in Seattle, Washington. They play in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Their mascot's name is Squatch. on Sunday gave them a 3-games-to-1 advantage in the best-of-seven series. They can earn their first trip to the Western Conference finals since 1991 with a victory Tuesday night in Seattle. And then, perhaps, the Lakers will let their hair down and their socks down, having dispelled the second-round jinx jinx n. 1. A person or thing that is believed to bring bad luck. 2. A condition or period of bad luck that appears to have been caused by a specific person or thing. tr.v. that prompted the knee-highs look of Van Exel and Fisher. Until then, they are containing premature giddiness, happy just to bask in their third straight win, their second straight 50-percent shooting performance, Shaquille O'Neal's 39-point dunk-apalooza and Eddie Jones' third straight career playoff high (32 points). The Lakers' offense is clicking so well that the Sonics' 50 percent shooting, improved rebounding and eight 3-pointers still put them a dozen points short of a win. It would take three losses in a row for the Lakers not to advance, so they'll allow themselves to feel confident now. ``At the rate we're playing right now, it's a situation where we go up there feeling pretty darn confident we can end it Tuesday,'' said the Lakers' Rick Fox. ``I tell you, we feel pretty good, especially considering the first five games we played them this year, we only won one game. And you have to think the shoe's on the other foot now.'' It's not a comfortable shoe for the Sonics to wear, to be sure. Seattle lost consecutive games only twice all season, making this their first three-game losing streak of 1997-98. Worse, they thought they had the Lakers figured out, winning the first three meetings of the season and Game 1 of the playoff series. Now, three losses later, the Sonics find themselves facing the long odds of NBA history: only six teams have come back from a 3-1 deficit to win a playoff series. It could happen. The Lakers could collapse. But ``it would take remission on our part,'' Fox said. And it's hard to know what it would take on Seattle's part. What more could they ask for after Gary Payton's 31-point, 13-assist day, Detlef Schrempf's 25 points and the entire team's 50 percent shooting? The stats read like the box score of a winning team. But for the Sonics, a loss nonetheless. ``It is not over, gentlemen,'' said Seattle coach George Karl George Matthew Karl (born May 12, 1951 in Penn Hills, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is an American former National Basketball Association (NBA) and American Basketball Association (ABA) player and current head coach of the Denver Nuggets. , whose tenure might end when the Sonics' season ends. ``That's all I've got to tell you: It is not over.'' It will be if the Lakers play with the kind of charmed existence they had Sunday, particularly in the closing seconds of the first half. Their spotty spot·ty adj. spot·ti·er, spot·ti·est 1. Lacking consistency; uneven. 2. Having or marked with spots; spotted. spot play in the second quarter turned a five-point lead into a three-point deficit 7.1 seconds before halftime. But after a pair of Jones free throws, Jones got a hand on Schrempf's inbounds in·bounds adj. 1. Basketball Involving putting the ball into play by passing it from out of bounds to a teammate on the court. 2. Sports Within the designated boundaries. pass, nearly lost the ball out of bounds, saved it with a behind-the-back flip, which ping-ponged off the legs of 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. and eventually into the hands of Nick Van Exel, who heaved a 26-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer. The Lakers led 57-55 and never trailed again. ``That 3 was big,'' Lakers coach Del Harris said. ``We came in on an up when by all rights we should have been down.'' Instead, it helped suck the life out of the Sonics. ``Those things are very demoralizing de·mor·al·ize tr.v. de·mor·al·ized, de·mor·al·iz·ing, de·mor·al·iz·es 1. To undermine the confidence or morale of; dishearten: an inconsistent policy that demoralized the staff. ,'' Horry said. ``You see a guy make a shot like that. . . . sometimes in the back of of your mind you think, `Maybe we're not supposed to win this game.' '' GAME 4: A CLOSER LOK RATING THE LAKERS OFFENSE: Excellent The Lakers can't do much better than this: 53.8 percent shooting, 47.4 percent from 3-point range, while even their free-throw shooting, though awful (60.7 percent), included a 9-for-12 performance from 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). . DEFENSE: Fair Just good enough to win. The Lakers' usually solid defense allowed the Sonics 100 points on 50 percent shooting and 61.5 percent 3-point shooting. But they came up with 10 blocked shots and nine steals. CLUTCH SHOOTING: Excellent Timeliness was everything Sunday, as the Lakers had an answer for every Sonics run. Nick Van Exel's 26-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer gave the Lakers the halftime lead, and his consecutive 3-pointers in the fourth ended Seattle's final threat. HERO Shaquille O'Neal The Lakers center turned in his most dominant performance of the series with 39 points on 15-of-20 shooting while hitting 9 of 12 free throws. He added eight rebounds and seven assists. GOAT Vin Baker Vincent (Vin) Lamont Baker (born November 23, 1971, in Lake Wales, Florida) is an American professional basketball player in the NBA, currently a free agent. He appeared in four consecutive All-Star Games before his career was troubled by alcoholism. The Sonics forward, guarded by O'Neal, scored 10 points in the first quarter but only two the rest of the game and fouled out while defending Shaq with 2:14 left in the game. CAPTION(S): 2 Photos, Box PHOTO (1--Cover--Color) THEY GOT GAME O'Neal, Jones put Lakers on verge of conference finals Terri Thuente/Daily News (2) Vin Baker, center, and the Sonics were outmanned by the Lakers once again. L.A. is one victory away from reaching the conference finals. David Crane/Daily News BOX: GAME 4: A CLOSER LOOK (see text) |
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