LAKERS HANG ON YET AGAIN FOX, GRANT AND THE FINAL BUZZER ALL PIVOTAL IN SQUEAKER AT MIAMI LAKERS 81, MIAMI 79.Byline: Howard Beck Staff Writer MIAMI Miami, cities, United States Miami (mīăm`ē, –ə). 1 City (1990 pop. 358,548), seat of Dade co., SE Fla., on Biscayne Bay at the mouth of the Miami River; inc. 1896. - The Lakers' fate Tuesday once again came down to batted-around balls, goofy officiating, clanky free throws and a lucky break or two, and the encouraging part is they somehow spun all that into a victory. On the road. Again. Nothing was secure until the final buzzer sounded, but the Lakers survived another rough night in the East, pulling out an 81-79 win over the Miami Heat The Miami Heat (known as the HEAT [in all capital letters] on official team publications) are a professional basketball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. They play in the National Basketball Association (NBA). at American Airlines American Airlines Major U.S. airline. American was created through a merger of several smaller U.S. airlines and incorporated in 1934. It continued to buy the routes of other airlines, becoming an international carrier in the 1970s; its routes include South America, the Arena. And that buzzer sounded just in time, mere tenths of a second before Brian Grant's would-be game-tying shot went through the net. Officials waved it off and the Lakers had their third straight victory. It looked a lot like Sunday's overtime win at Toronto, yet despite another iffy if·fy adj. if·fi·er, if·fi·est Informal Doubtful; uncertain: an iffy proposition. [From if. performance, the Lakers are 2-0 on this road trip. ``It's not the first we've seen this year. At least we're coming out on the winning end of them, the positive side now,'' said Rick Fox. ``But any win on the road is gratifying grat·i·fy tr.v. grat·i·fied, grat·i·fy·ing, grat·i·fies 1. To please or satisfy: His achievement gratified his father. See Synonyms at please. 2. , regardless of how you get it done. Especially against a (Pat) Riley team. Riley teams are stingy stin·gy adj. stin·gi·er, stin·gi·est 1. Giving or spending reluctantly. 2. Scanty or meager: a stingy meal; stingy with details about the past. at home.'' The stingy Heat held 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 22 points and 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. to 23 (six below his average), but the Lakers got 13 points from Fox - who made a season-high four 3-pointers in four tries - and 12 from 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 rediscovered his shooting touch in the fourth quarter. But the Heat, behind 20 points from Anthony Mason
Sir Anthony Frank Mason , erased a nine-point lead in the first half and nearly overcame a five-point deficit in the final minute. ``We kept that really interesting tonight, missed some foul shots and not taking of business at the end of the game,'' coach Phil Jackson said. ``But Shaq made some big blocks down the stretch, Horace made some nice shots and we prevailed.'' It was just enough to win, which is the way things are going lately for the Lakers, who improved to 18-9 and put the recent 1-4 stretch behind them. Miami's unwavering aggression and one bad call nearly sent the Lakers back into naval-gazing mode. Back-to-back jumpers from Grant had given the Lakers a five-point lead with 1:24 to go and earned Grant a big bearhug from O'Neal. ``Just to hit them, period, was very important,'' said Grant, who had taken some ribbing from teammates for his shooting woes. ``Just to hit those two shots to put us up and to go and get the victory, this is heaven-sent.'' Then came two Lakers misfires and one botched botch tr.v. botched, botch·ing, botch·es 1. To ruin through clumsiness. 2. To make or perform clumsily; bungle. 3. To repair or mend clumsily. n. 1. call by the officials. O'Neal, intentionally fouled by Mason, missed both free throws and went 0 for his last 6. Then Ron Harper fouled Tim Hardaway when the Lakers had no fouls to give - but got off the hook when Hardaway missed both free throws. A Hardaway 3-pointer closed the gap to 81-79 with 39.8 seconds left, then the Heat got a gift. Ex-Laker Eddie Jones slapped an O'Neal rebound toward the Heat bench, then chased it out of bounds. Replays confirmed Jones was the last to touch the ball - twice - but officials gave Miami the ball. ``That was ridiculous,'' Bryant said. ``But like I told the ref, I said, `Man, we don't need your calls to win. We'll win on our own.' We won seven-on-five.'' But the refs got the final call right. O'Neal blocked a Grant four-footer and Hardaway picked up the loose ball, then heaved one with the clock running out. The airball landed in the hands of Grant, who pushed it up and in, but officials waved it off, correctly as TV replays confirmed. It was a fine night for Lakers defense, from O'Neal's four blocks to Harper's shutdown of Hardaway (3 for 16 from the field). Bryant also kept his old friend Jones in check - 14 points on 5-of-13 shooting. ``It just got to be a scrum game out there in the course of the night,'' Jackson said, ``and it was just semi-tackle football at one time, so things got a little difficult for everybody. It was a man's game, so to speak, and they have the kind of players to manufacture that kind of game. And they got the game exactly where they wanted it, a chance to win down the stretch.'' CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: (color) Kobe Bryant drives to the basket during the Lakers' 81-79 win over Miami. Alan Diaz/Associated Press Box: GAME RECAP |
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