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Time to shine Kobe might get more scoring opportunities in Game 2Posted: Thursday June 06, 2002 10:18 PMEL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) -- With all the focus on Shaquille O'Neal, perhaps Game 2 of the NBA Finals will be Kobe Bryant's time to shine on offense. Bryant was his usual dependable self in the Los Angeles Lakers' 99-94 victory over New Jersey in Game 1 of the best-of-seven series, but nothing special -- at least for him. Perhaps that will change Friday night at Staples Center as the two-time defending champions attempt to take a 2-0 lead. O'Neal was the main subject of conversation Thursday on the heels of his 36-point, 16-rebound effort in Game 1, and Nets coach Byron Scott made it clear there will be some adjustments, although they won't be drastic. That could open things up for Bryant and his teammates. Bryant scored a quiet 22 points -- nearly half on 10 free throws in 11 attempts -- and shot a sub-par 6-for-16 from the field. The fourth quarter has often been his time to take over in the postseason -- especially against San Antonio in the Western Conference semifinals -- but he was especially quiet against the Nets, taking -- and making -- only one shot in the final 12 minutes. O'Neal, meanwhile, had 14 points and nine rebounds in the fourth quarter as the Lakers held off the Nets. "I normally don't concern myself with my offensive output," Bryant said after practice Thursday. When asked what the Lakers wanted to change entering Game 2, Bryant quickly replied: "Make more shots. I had a couple easy looks, just didn't fall for me." Bryant is shooting only 41.6 percent (157-of-377) in the playoffs -- more than five percent lower than his regular-season output, but he continues to be a team leader in a variety of ways. He came out shooting against the Nets, going 3-of-8 in the first quarter as the Lakers took a 29-14 lead, then missed his only three shots of the second period. After Bryant dominated the third quarter, going 2-of-4 from the field and 7-of-8 from the line for 11 of his team's 24 points, O'Neal was the man down the stretch. "I thought we did a pretty good job on Kobe," Scott said. "On the perimeter, we did a pretty good job. I think he was deferring to Shaq. "Other than the first quarter, I was pretty happy with the way we played. We let [Bryant] penetrate a little too much and he got to the foul line." The Lakers built a 42-19 lead in the second quarter, but were then outscored 75-57. "I think we played as if we had a 20-point lead, a 23-point lead, as opposed to playing the possession," Bryant said. "And just focus on playing good basketball. "Start of the game, we came out with a lot of intensity and then, you know, once you get a [big] lead, you have a tendency to let up. That's something we addressed today and hopefully it won't happen again." Bryant pointed out the Nets got back into the game when they started pressuring the Lakers more as they brought the ball up the floor in an attempt to speed up the game and make it more difficult for the Lakers to get the ball inside. "In the first half, we just moved the ball wherever we wanted to move it, got Shaq the ball wherever we wanted to," Bryant said. "I think that's going to be a minor adjustment [Scott] is going to make for Game 2, and we're going to be ready for it. "In Game 1, they didn't play like themselves outside of the last two quarters or something like that. They were nervous in Game 1. I think after Game 2, we'll have a much better feel for who they are as a basketball team." Forward Robert Horry said he didn't believe the Lakers necessarily relaxed when they got their big lead. "In the first quarter, we did things that came easy and we kept trying to do them because they worked," he said. "But sometimes, you just have to make changes, and I didn't think we made changes in the second, third and fourth quarter. But the bottom line is you try to do enough for a win. "If this was the CBA, we might have been worried. but we got a nice little win."
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