LOOKS LIKE LAKERS OF OLD L.A. WINS AGAIN; `SWAGGER BACK' LAKERS 90, NEW ORLEANS 82.Byline: Howard Beck Staff Writer NEW ORLEANS New Orleans (ôr`lēənz –lənz, ôrlēnz`), city (2006 pop. 187,525), coextensive with Orleans parish, SE La., between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, 107 mi (172 km) by water from the river mouth; founded - There were high fives and handshakes at midcourt, Rick Fox to 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. to 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). , and finally 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. , who bared a soulful smile, shook a victorious fist a few times and then walked leisurely toward the locker room. The Lakers grinded out their first major road victory of the season Wednesday night, so they were in no hurry to leave. They lingered a few seconds and savored the moment, 2 1/2 months in the making. The old arrogance isn't back yet, but it's coming, and the 90-82 victory over the New Orleans Hornets The New Orleans Hornets are a professional basketball team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They play in the Southwest Division of the National Basketball Association (NBA). might provide the foundation. It was only the Lakers' fifth road victory, but it was their first against a winning team. And it was earned with the sort of grit and hustle the Lakers once turned loose with regularity. With a fourth-quarter stand built on blocked shots and rebounds and intimidation. ``Very big,'' O'Neal said of the victory. ``We're getting our energy back, we're getting our swagger back, and it's good to see all eight, nine guys playing like that.'' The swagger comes on the strength of a season-best five-game winning streak Noun 1. winning streak - a streak of wins streak, run - an unbroken series of events; "had a streak of bad luck"; "Nicklaus had a run of birdies" that has pushed the Lakers to 18-20 - as close to .500 as they have been since Nov. 7, when they were 2-4. It wasn't their best-played game of the streak, just the most important. It validated the blowouts of Miami, Cleveland and Denver, and gave strength to the notion they truly have regained their old rhythm and not just puffed themselves by bullying the league's lesser teams. ``I think it's just re-establishing ourselves a little bit as a basketball team that can pull things together,'' coach Phil Jackson
Philip Douglas "Phil" Jackson (born September 17, 1945 in Deer Lodge, Montana) is the current coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, an American professional basketball team. said. Bryant's 36 points and 11 rebounds got the Lakers most of the way there. O'Neal effectively was contained by Jamal Magloire and 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. but delivered down the stretch to finish with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Ultimately, the Lakers' defense carried them to the finish. They held the Hornets without a field goal for the final 8 minutes, 20 seconds. A Jamal Mashburn Jamal Mashburn (born November 29, 1972 in New York City) is a retired American professional basketball player. A small forward, Mashburn was a prolific scorer in his 12 seasons in the league, with a career scoring average of 19.1 points per game. 3-pointer proved to be New Orleans' final bucket, and the Hornets scored just five points the rest of the way. O'Neal blocked Campbell on the way to the basket. He wrestled away a defensive rebound from a pair of Hornets, then hit a short jumper at the other end. Robert Horry blocked Magloire and, a few minutes later, swatted away a P.J. Brown layup attempt. The result was a 14-4 run that pushed the Lakers' lead to 90-81 by the final minute. The Lakers went 6 for 20 from the field in the final quarter but held New Orleans to 3-for-16 shooting. ``Defense has been the trademark of our success, and that's why we've won three championships,'' Fox said. This was O'Neal's third homecoming of the season, after stops in Orlando (his first NBA NBA abbr. 1. National Basketball Association 2. National Boxing Association NBA (US) n abbr (= National Basketball Association) → Basketball-Dachverband (= home) and East Rutherford, N.J. (near his hometown of Newark). He played just two years at Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, generally known as Louisiana State University or LSU, is a public, coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and the main campus of the Louisiana State University System. , but the roots run deep. O'Neal had 188 ticket requests and among the friendly faces in the crowd was his coach at LSU LSU Louisiana State University LSU Large Subunit LSU La Salle University (Philadelphia, PA) LSU La Sierra University LSU Link State Update (OSPF) LSU Learning Support Unit , Dale Brown. O'Neal struggled to get his shot off against the Hornets' tough interior defense, and he missed 12 of 17 shots in the first three quarters before finding some space, going 4 for 7 in the final period. O'Neal's three-point play with 6:40 left gave the Lakers the lead for good at 80-79. He scored 10 of the Lakers' last 14 points, often glancing toward Brown as he trotted back up the court. ``They did a great job on Shaquille, and he finally found a way to score a little bit down the stretch when we needed him,'' Jackson said. Horry provided the rest of the punch with 10 points and seven rebounds, and he had several key plays that kept possessions alive. New Orleans (20-20) got a boost from the return of ex-UCLA standout Baron Davis, who scored 20 points after sitting out six games with back spasms. But he seemed to tire against Bryant's stiff defense, going 0 for 5 in the fourth quarter. The next challenge is in Houston, where the Yao Ming hype machine awaits O'Neal and Steve Francis awaits Bryant, and the Lakers will try for their first consecutive road victories of the season. ``We still have a ways to go,'' Bryant said. ``But it's a long season. We just have to be patient, work out the kinks on a daily basis.'' CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: The Lakers' Kobe Bryant (8) had 36 points and 11 rebounds to lead his team to victory in New Orleans. Andrew J. Cohoon/Associated Press Box: GAME RECAP |
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