RETURN OF WOUNDED KNEE : O'NEAL HURT AGAIN IN LAKERS' ROUGH WIN LAKERS 100, MINNESOTA 84.Byline: Mark Stein Mark Stein (born 29 January 1966 in Cape Town, South Africa) is a former footballer who played for numerous English clubs as a striker. He is the younger brother of former Luton Town striker Brian Stein. Daily News Staff Writer Out he came for the opening tip wearing two new knee braces. He limped off mere minutes later sporting one new knee injury. That, aside from a quick 12 points, is the painfully brief summary of Shaquille O'Neal's much-anticipated comeback Wednesday night. The Lakers' $120 million man didn't even last a quarter. And a 100-84 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are a professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Their organization is a member of the National Basketball Association (NBA). , however impressive, wasn't going to mask the Lakers' anguish. ``I asked him `good or bad,' '' co-captain 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 said, ``and Shaq said `bad.' '' Playing for the first time since spraining his right knee Feb. 3 against Washington - a setback that cost him the final two games before the All-Star break and the All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game played by the best players in their sports league. The players are often chosen by a popular vote of fans of the sport and the game often occurs at the halfway point of the regular season, although this is not the case for some all-star games itself - O'Neal suffered a strained left knee less than four minutes into Wednesday's action at the Target Center. It came after he landed awkwardly trying to catch a Van Exel lob pass. The spill, caused when his knee buckled with 8:26 left in the opening period, kept O'Neal on the floor for about a minute before he decided to play on. With 3:37 left in the quarter, despite racking up those 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting, he asked to be taken out and headed for the locker room shortly thereafter. O'Neal, who refused to speak with reporters afterward, will be re-evaluated today in Denver but is expected to miss tonight's game against the Nuggets Nuggets can refer to several branches of interest:
``Obviously, we're hoping for the best,'' Lakers coach Del Harris said. ``(But) I would say the chances of him playing in Denver are pretty slim.'' To their credit, as they did last Wednesday in beating Chicago at home, the Lakers (36-13) kept fighting without their heavyweight in one of the most physical games of the season. Behind 21 points and nine rebounds from 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. and a near triple-double from 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. (11 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists), L.A. overcame several Minnesota rallies and a near brawl in the second quarter to avenge a 15-point defeat here in December. ``It's kind of tough, losing the big fella again,'' said Van Exel, who earned a technical for shoving Minnesota's Tom Gugliotta Thomas James Gugliotta (born December 19, 1969 near Huntington Station, New York) is an American former professional basketball player. The youngest of seven children, Gugliotta was a skinny 6'6", 198 pound forward as a high school senior. His two older brothers, Frank Jr. during a second-quarter scrap that also involved the Lakers' Robert Horry 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. . ``Hopefully we can get him back soon.'' Said Kersey kersey coarse, narrow cloth used for leg bandages in horses. , ``We don't want to go too long without him.'' For O'Neal, nine days between games - nine days of intense rehabilitation - was too long. No surprise, then, that he came out with vigor, dunking home a Horry pass after just four seconds. But the gaudy yellow knee pads he tried, like the ones he wore in college 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 - ``So I don't run into clumsy big men like Gheorghe Muresan,'' O'Neal joked - didn't provide much protection on the fateful play. And despite scoring 10 of his 12 points after the injury, he limped noticeably before removing himself from the game. The rough stuff didn't stop, either. In that second-quarter clash, Gugliotta reacted angrily to a flagrant foul A flagrant foul is a serious contact foul involving unnecessary and/or excessive and/or intentional contact in sport. There is a specific National Basketball Association foul termed a flagrant foul. by Horry, prompting Kersey to step in with his shoulder. Van Exel also joined in, shoving Gugliotta as retaliation for being shoved by the Wolves' All-Star forward in the team's last meeting. ``Googs is a dirty player,'' Van Exel said. ``He came out and hit Robert with an elbow, and Robert didn't like it. He also tried to run right through Jerome like Jerome wasn't supposed to be there or something. He wanted to play physical. That's the type of player he is.'' Said Kersey: ``It's part of the game. If you don't want to be involved, step away.'' Tensions swelled with 7:57 left in the third quarter, when Horry accidentally landed on Kevin Garnett's foot after a dunk. Garnett glared at Horry and the rest of the Lakers' bench after struggling to get up, but after drawing within six at 63-57, the Wolves (23-26) gradually faded. Sparked by the defense of Horry, Kersey and rookie Travis Knight, the Lakers held Minnesota scoreless for a six-minute stretch down the stretch to take an 89-77 lead to 96-77. Campbell had two big baskets during the 7-0 spurt and Knight had seven of his 11 points in the quarter. ``It's the position I like to be in,'' Campbell said of his third straight game as the Lakers' go-to guy - and his third straight 20-point performance. ``I'm probably not as effective as Shaq, but I can do a great job taking up some of the slack (inside).'' THE LOWDOWN low·down n. Slang The whole truth: gave us the lowdown on what happened at the party. lowdown low (inf) n he gave me the lowdown on it → ON SHAQ Injury prognosis: Strained left knee. Previous injury: Sprained right knee. Travel plans: Will fly with team to Denver today, will not play, and will have the knee re-examined. Game summary: Played eight minutes of the first quarter, had four rebounds and made 6 of 7 shots, scoring 10 of his 12 points after the injury. Shaq quote: O'Neal would not talk to reporters after the game. Teammate quote: ``I'm probably not as effective as Shaq, but I can do a great job taking up some of the slack,'' said Elden Campbell, who had his third straight 20-point-plus game. CAPTION(S): 2 Photos, Box Photo: (1--color) no caption (Shaquille O'Neal) (2) While Lakers center Shaquille O'Neal is tended to by Lakers trainer Gary Vitti, teammate Eddie Jones (6) and Minnesota's Kevin Garnett, left, watch with concern. Associated Press Box: THE LOWDOWN ON SHAQ (see text) |
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