BULLS VS. LAKERS MAY BE SHAQLESS.Byline: Marc Stein Marc Stein is a sports reporter. He began writing for ESPN.com in 2000 and signed on full-time in 2002 to serve as the site's senior National Basketball Association writer. Daily News Staff Writer One day. That's how long it took 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). to deal with the reality of December's devastating dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. collapse in Chicago . . . and how long he's giving himself to recover for tonight's rematch. By skipping Tuesday's cross-town tussle with the Clippers, O'Neal hopes his mildly sprained right knee will be well enough to withstand a visit by the defending world champions, who invade the Forum at 7:30 p.m. in the most anticipated regular-season game since, well, since the teams' last meeting. In that one, O'Neal was held scoreless in the fourth quarter and overtime as the Bulls overturned a 22-point deficit to claim a dramatic 129-123 victory at the United Center. This time, the All-Star center will have to be cleared by the Lakers' medical staff just to have a shot at revenge. And even if O'Neal does play, he won't get to face chief tormentor Dennis Rodman, who, instead of hacking at Shaq, will be completing his 11-game suspension for kicking a cameraman. ``It's not about getting physical, don't misunderstand me,'' said O'Neal, who after the December showdown revealed that he wanted to slug Rodman by game's end. ``I can take physicality. I can't take dirt-ality. ``I can take physicalness. I don't like dirtiness.'' For the Lakers - whose 34-13 record is better than every success rate in the league except Chicago's 42-5 mark - Rodman's harassment of O'Neal was far from the only distasteful aspect of the first encounter. They also withered in the face of the Bulls' devastating second-half press and had no defense for Chicago super sub Toni Kukoc, who singlehandedly outscored the Lakers (18-15) in the fourth quarter. ``I turned the TV off,'' said newly acquired 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. , who was in Phoenix in December when the Lakers squandered squan·der tr.v. squan·dered, squan·der·ing, squan·ders 1. To spend wastefully or extravagantly; dissipate. See Synonyms at waste. 2. a 104-85 lead in the final period. ``I thought we were going to have a blowout, so I turned it to something else.'' What made the setback sting even more was that the Lakers failed to capitalize on Cap´i`tal`ize on` v. t. 1. To turn (an opportunity) to one's advantage; to take advantage of (a situation); to profit from; as, to capitalize on an opponent's mistakes s>. a rare off night for Michael Jordan This article is about the former basketball player. For other uses, see Michael Jordan (disambiguation). Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17 1963) is a retired American professional basketball player. . To score 30 points, Jordan needed 32 shots. Eddie Jones, his Lakers counterpart, isn't expecting a repeat. ``The next night he had the flu,'' Jones said. ``So I had a little help.'' Given the level at which Jordan has floated on the Bulls' West Coast road trip - outplaying All-Star guards Latrell Sprewell Latrell Fontaine Sprewell (born September 8 1970 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is a former American professional basketball player who last played for the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2004-05 NBA season. , Mitch Richmond Mitchell James ("Mitch") Richmond (born June 30, 1965 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida) is a retired American basketball player in the National Basketball Association. Known as "The Rock," "The Hammer", "The Captain," and "The Scorelord," Richmond was one of the NBA's best pure shooters and Gary Payton
Against Payton, Jordan rang up 45 points to power Chicago to a 91-84 win at KeyArena. ``People have to understand that we're a team,'' Jordan said. ``We look for challenges and Dennis gave us a challenge, in some ways, and we've dealt with it. ``. . . (The Lakers) felt sure they gave that game away. They had a big lead and we came back and overwhelmed them. I'm sure they'll feel confident at their place after what they did to us at our place. You want to make a statement at home.'' ``I'm not going to knock Michael or any of his products,'' said Lakers coach Del Harris, well aware that Jordan recently torched New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of for 51 points after some controversial statements by Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy Jeff Van Gundy (born January 19, 1962 in Hemet, California) is an American basketball head coach, most recently with the National Basketball Association's Houston Rockets. Van Gundy attended Nazareth College (1985). . ``I'm going to eat Wheaties for breakfast, wear Hanes (underwear) and eat McDonald's on the way in.'' Harris will probably have to see Shaq in uniform to maintain that joking mood. ``I've been led to believe that it's not serious,'' Harris said of O'Neal's injury. ``I didn't sense any panic and yet there is concern. ``I'd rather see him play if he can, but you've got to do the right thing. We're in for the long run with Shaq.'' LAKERS vs. CHICAGO Tipoff: 7:30 p.m., Forum. TV/Radio: Fox Sports West, TBS (subject to blackout); KLAC-AM (570). Lakers (34-13) update: Besides Shaquille O'Neal and his sprained right knee, the Lakers could again be without Byron Scott Byron Scott may refer to:
Bulls (42-5) update: Michael Jordan challenged his club to sweep its six-game West Coast road swing and the Bulls have a shot after beating Portland Tuesday night. With wins over Vancouver, Sacramento, Golden State, Seattle and Portland, Chicago improved to 11-1 this season when Dennis Rodman is suspended. Rodman was in attendance at Anaheim Arena on Tuesday night when the Lakers faced the Clippers. CAPTION(S): Box Box: LAKERS VS. CHICAGO (see text) |
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