SHAQ MAKES LIKE JORDAN IN ROUT; O'NEAL'S 41 POINTS, 17 REBOUNDS SPARK LAKERS : LAKERS 103, CHICAGO 95.Byline: Howard Beck Staff Writer If 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. initially looked a little out of place coaching against the Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are a professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois. They play in the National Basketball Association. The team was founded in 1966, and has won six NBA Championships since. , it took only a few minutes of play Friday night for the anachronistic a·nach·ro·nism n. 1. The representation of someone as existing or something as happening in other than chronological, proper, or historical order. 2. feelings to vanish. These weren't the Bulls as anyone knows them. In fact, you could hardly name some of them. Where there once was 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. , there was Hersey Hawkins Hersey R. Hawkins, Jr. (born September 29, 1966, in Chicago, Illinois) is an American former professional basketball player. After starring at Westinghouse High School in Chicago, the 6' 3" shooting guard attended Bradley University, where he averaged an NCAA Division I-high 36. . Where 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). once roamed, there was Ron Artest Ronald (Ron) William Artest Jr. (born November 13 1979) is an American professional basketball player who currently plays with the Sacramento Kings of the NBA. Artest gained reputation as one of the premier defenders in the game today, winning the NBA Defensive Player of the Year . Instead of Dennis Rodman, Elton Brand Elton Tyron Brand (born March 11, 1979 in Peekskill, New York) is an American All-Star professional basketball player for the National Basketball Association's Los Angeles Clippers and the USA National Team. . And Will Perdue has given way to, uh, Will Perdue. The new-look Bulls, with five rookies on the roster, were no match for Jackson's new would-be dynasty - and especially Jackson's new breadwinner bread·win·ner n. One whose earnings are the primary source of support for one's dependents. bread·win  ning n. , Shaquille O'Neal.
If O'Neal lacks the grace of Jordan, he certainly can match his dominance, a point O'Neal and his coach seemed intent to prove Friday in a 103-95 rout of the Bulls at Staples Center. Jackson played O'Neal for 43 minutes, despite a healthy double-digit lead, and O'Neal mercilessly embarrassed his coach's former team with a 41-point, 17-rebound, seven-block performance. He hit his first 10 field-goal attempts and finished 11 of 13 and entertained the crowd with an impressive night at the foul line. O'Neal made 19 of 31 free throws (both career highs), and the fans grew more rowdy with every attempt. In an otherwise-dull fourth quarter, the loudest cheers came when O'Neal was fouled, when O'Neal shot free throws and when O'Neal made free throws, followed by the moment, with 4:39 left, that O'Neal finally checked out, replaced by Travis Knight. It was only 17 months ago that Jackson and Jordan led the Bulls to their sixth championship of the 1990s. But watching this Bulls team made the previous era seem like a millennium ago. ``You dismantle a team of nine players that have contributed to a championship, you're just not going to have enough people to play at that level,'' Jackson said. ``When Michael left and retired (the first time), we still had nine guys from a championship team. . . . You can hold a semblance of championship fever, but when you lose so many players it's real difficult.'' Fever has given way to debilitating de·bil·i·tat·ing adj. Causing a loss of strength or energy. Debilitating Weakening, or reducing the strength of. Mentioned in: Stress Reduction illness. The Bulls are now an odd mix of ultra-young and promising (Brand and Artest) and old and declining (Perdue Perdue may refer to:
Yet it took the Lakers until the third quarter to create the rout that was expected of them. They held a nine-point lead coming out of halftime, then scored 13 straight - seven by O'Neal - to open the third quarter. Glen Rice, who looked lost in a 1-for-8 performance the night before, regained his shooting touch with a 17-point effort. Despite an 18-point first half from O'Neal, the Lakers had difficulty putting any distance between themselves the the scrappy, if faceless, Bulls in the opening two quarters. The Lakers built a 14-point lead by early in the second quarter, then watched rookies Brand and Dedric Willoughby heat up. Willoughby scored 12 points in the half, including six straight toward the end of the second quarter, as the Lakers settled for a 49-40 halftime lead. Brand, the first pick in this year's draft, finished the first half with 11 points and 10 rebounds. A third rookie, Artest, had 10 points by halftime. But the Lakers were encouraged by the quick turnaround of Rice. After a horrible 1-for-8 performance at Denver the night before, Rice came out firing against the Bulls. He missed his first shot, on the opening possession, but soon got untracked and hit 4 of 6 shots for 11 points in the first half. CAPTION(S): photo, chart PHOTO (color) The Bulls' Randy Brown goes up for a layup around the Lakers' Shaquille O'Neal. Kevork Djansezian/Associated Press CHART: game recap |
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