Overtime upset
Van Exel helps hand Lakers their second straight road loss
Posted: Tuesday February 23, 1999 02:18 AM
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Denver's Raef LaFrentz attempts to defend Los Angeles' Shaquille O'Neal. AP |
DENVER (AP) -- Through 48 minutes, Nick Van Exel was a
woeful 1-for-12 against his former teammates. He even hit the side of the
backboard on a driving layup.
But Van Exel never wavered. He dished out 13 assists and then scored
seven points with the game on the line in overtime as the Denver Nuggets beat the
Los Angeles Lakers
117-113 on Monday night.
"I knew my shot wasn't there, so I just tried to make everybody else
better and get them some good looks," Van Exel said. "When I came in, I
said I wanted to run the pick-and-roll and get guys open and see if
somebody else could knock the shots down."
Nuggets coach Mike D'Antoni said Van Exel did what he had to.
"He's got to be our leader," the coach said. "He shot 3-for-16, but who
cares? If you can run the plays and get guys involved and just rally them
around, that's good."
The Nuggets, winning for only the second time this season, forced
overtime thanks to 15 fourth-quarter points from Chauncey Billups, who
helped rally Denver from a 12-point deficit early in the period.
Antonio McDyess,
hobbled after suffering a bruised left quadriceps early in the third
quarter, had 22 points and 16 rebounds for the Nuggets. Raef LaFrentz and
Billups added 20 points each, and LaFrentz had six in OT.
Van Exel, Eric
Washington and Danny
Fortson all had 16 points.
The Lakers' Shaquille
O'Neal scored 28 points but fouled out late in the fourth quarter. Kobe Bryant had 26
points, 13 rebounds and nine assists, and Elden Campbell came off
the bench to score 24 before he, too, fouled out with 1:06 left in
overtime.
"I know Van Exel didn't shoot the ball well all night," Lakers coach Del
Harris said, "but he got the ball to the right people. His assisting was
spectacular.
"We outrebounded them and outshot them, but the game came down to them
going to the line 51 times and their making the 3s."
The Nuggets hit 12 of 28 shots from 3-point range compared to the Lakers'
4 of 15, and also hit 39 of 51 free throws compared to the Lakers' 21 of
33.
Harris said his team was tired from its current road trip, but insisted
the imminent signing of Dennis Rodman has not
been a distraction.
Billups' 3-pointer and pair of free throws cut the Lakers' lead to 94-91
with 7:15 left in regulation. Another 3-pointer by Billups gave Denver a
104-103 lead with 54 seconds remaining, but O'Neal's free throw produced
overtime.
Van Exel hit a 3-pointer early in overtime, and LaFrentz followed with a
reverse layup on a feed from Van Exel, a 3-pointer and a free throw to make
it 113-106.
Van Exel added a driving layup and two free throws, helping hold off a
late Laker rally that included Bryant's long 3-pointer with 11.5 seconds
left that cut the lead to 116-113.
The Nuggets lost Fortson and Washington to fouls.
Denver went on a 10-0 run, capped by Washington's 3-pointer, to open a
21-10 lead with 7:22 left in the opening period. Another 3-point basket by
Washington gave Denver its biggest lead of the quarter, 32-18.
Campbell's eight-footer in the lane cut Denver's lead to 56-54 with 55
seconds left, but Denver led 61-56 at intermission.
McDyess had 19 points and eight rebounds at the half, and Washington, a
guard who started at small forward for the first time this season, added 13
points. Campbell and O'Neal each had 15 points in the half.
The Lakers outshot the Nuggets 49 percent to 42 percent in the half, but
Denver made five more 3-pointers and 10 more points from the line.
O'Neal sat out most of the third quarter after picking up his fourth
foul, but the Nuggets missed McDyess more. He was sidelined by his injury
with 8:00 left in the quarter, and the Lakers outscored Denver 25-10 the
remainder of the period to take an 88-78 lead into the fourth quarter.
Notes: Lakers forward Robert Horry missed his
fifth straight game after being diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat last
week. ... Denver was without guard Bryant Stith, sidelined
with a strained right groin. ... It was the second of three road games in
as many nights for the Lakers, who are in Vancouver on Tuesday. ... Van
Exel was 3-for-19 in his first game this season against the Lakers on Feb.
10. ... Denver's victory snapped a nine-game losing streak to Los Angeles.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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