LAKERS BLOW IT IN FOURTH : DEFENSE CAN'T STOP BULLS/KUKOC RALLY CHICAGO 129, LAKERS 123.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 From the Lakers' latest foray into Verb 1. foray into - enter someone else's territory and take spoils; "The pirates raided the coastal villages regularly" raid encroach upon, intrude on, obtrude upon, invade - to intrude upon, infringe, encroach on, violate; "This new colleague invades my overtime, their second in as many games, it could take days to recover. And maybe even longer to determine which portion of this wild trip through Bulls Country was more amazing, more unfathomable. The lead. Or the fold. Late Tuesday night, the Lakers were simply too numb to make that call. After blowing all of a 18-point cushion in the fourth quarter on the world champions' home floor to come away with a heartbreaking 129-123 OT defeat, simply stating the obvious required an extra effort. ``This one,'' 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 finally conceded, ``will sting for a while.'' Van Exel's pain was evident before the final horn sounded on a star-filled clash that, in the end, was reduced to two southpaws slugging it out. And when it hit Van Exel that his 36 points would not be enough, that Toni Kukoc's 31 off the bench had him beat, the Lakers' fiery floor leader dropped to one knee at midcourt and lowered his head into his hands. He didn't want - or couldn't bear - to watch Dennis Rodman at the line with 5.7 seconds left in the extra period, icing this crushing loss with two free throws that had the United Center's 23,919 occupants roaring. A loss that defied the Lakers' recent overtime dominance - 15-3 since 1991-92 before this - and halted their win streak at five games. ``It hurt,'' said Van Exel, who supplied most of the Lakers' late offense with 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). held scoreless by Rodman and the Bulls for the final 6:52 of the third quarter and the entire fourth quarter and overtime. ``It hurt because we were up so much and you could hear every person in the crowd screaming, `Choke, choke.' ``(Scottie) Pippen was talking the whole night. He kept saying, `It ain't over, it ain't over.' He was right. He got the last word.'' The running debate involving Pippen and Van Exel was one of just many highlights in a game that the league office can only hope was an NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association. The team winning the Eastern Conference Finals earns one of the two berths in the championship round, with the other going to the team that wins the Western Conference Finals. preview. It had everything, from the Lakers running up a 72-point half against the best team in the world to the sight of Pippen and 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. throwing Rodman to the floor in the waning moments of OT to keep their mischievous teammate from getting into a fight with O'Neal and Jerome Kersey Jerome Kersey (born June 26, 1962 in Clarksville, Virginia) is a retired American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association for a number of teams, but most notably for the Portland Trail Blazers. He also has served in various coaching roles in the NBA. . The Lakers, of course, are forced to focus on the ugly ending: The 104-85 lead that got erased. The costly turnovers and three missed free throws down the stretch. The joy of seeing Van Exel bank in a six-footer with 14.2 seconds left in regulation for a 116-114 edge, and the ensuing agony when Kukoc hit two free throws with 4.4 seconds remaining to force OT. It only got worse. Kukoc, not satisfied with outscoring the Lakers by himself in the fourth quarter (18-15), rained in a 26-foot triple over O'Neal with 1:38 left in overtime and the Bulls down 121-120. That bomb gave Chicago (21-3) its first lead all night, and the momentum. ``We just let that one slip away,'' said O'Neal, unstoppable in a 23-point first half but invisible at the finish thanks to Rodman and a Chicago press that kept the ball out of his hands. ``We had the game. We had it. We beat ourselves tonight.'' Pippen (35 points, 10 rebounds), Rodman (18 boards) and Kukoc (6 of 9 on 3s) all helped, but the Lakers (18-8) couldn't help feeling as though they wasted a grand opportunity. Especially since Jordan uncharacteristically needed 32 shots to get his 30 points. ``It's a disappointing loss,'' said Lakers coach Del Harris. ``We played some of our best ball of the year and then in the fourth quarter we played some of the poorest ball we've played all year. ``Chicago showed why they are the champions. They showed how to step it up and put a withering defense on an opponent. ``We played some of the best ball that's been played against the Bulls for three quarters. Then, without question, we stunk stunk v. A past tense and the past participle of stink. stunk Verb a past of stink stunk stink it up in the fourth quarter.'' Said Elden Campbell Elden Jerome Campbell (born July 23, 1968 in Los Angeles, California) is an American former professional basketball player who played center in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Campbell played college basketball at Clemson University. (19 points and 14 rebounds): ``We learned a lesson from the best tonight. Put teams away when you can.'' Now, instead, the Lakers have to try to the banish the memory of what could have been. ``Down the stretch, we played real young,'' said Eddie Jones, who added 21 points and the good defense on Jordan. ``We didn't step up to the challenge. ``But if you sit here and let this really get to you, we may be in trouble.'' CAPTION(S): 2 Photos, Box Photo: (1--color) Lakers center Shaquille O'Neal shoots over Chicago defender The Chicago Defender was the United States’ largest and most influential black weekly newspaper by the beginning of World War I.[1] The Defender was founded on May 5, 1905 by Robert S. Dickey Simpkins LuBara Dixon "Dickey" Simpkins (born April 6, 1972 in Fort Washington, Maryland) is an American professional basketball player best known for his tenure with the Chicago Bulls in the late 1990s. as Michael Jordan looks on. (2) Chicago Bulls' Scottie Pippen Scottie Maurice Pippen (born September 25, 1965 in Hamburg, Arkansas) is a retired American professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). drives between Lakers Eddie Jones, left, and Elden Campbell. Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. Box: LAKERS BOX |
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