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Dynamic duo Shaq, Kobe combine for 79 points as Lakers down Spurs
Updated: Saturday December 02, 2000 2:25 AM
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- An ailing Kobe Bryant left San Antonio with a sick feeling. Bothered by an upper-respiratory infection, Bryant scored 16 of his career-high 43 points in a span of six minutes at the end of the third quarter and start of the fourth as the Los Angeles Lakers rebounded from their most lopsided loss in nearly six years to beat San Antonio 109-100. The usually accessible Bryant, who also had six assists while playing 44 minutes, did a brief television interview afterward and said he was very weak and totally drained. He wasn't available for other interviews after that. "He played very excellent ball, moved the ball well, shot the ball well," said Shaquille O'Neal, who had 36 points and 16 rebounds to help the Lakers beat the Spurs for only the second time in 11 games despite blowing a 20-point halftime lead. "Kobe came out and played well, hit some hard shots, played an awesome game," Lakers guard Ron Harper said. "And when the game got tight, he made the big shots. So did Shaq."
Bryant scored five points in the final 38 seconds of the third quarter, including a 3-point shot in the final second to put the Lakers on top 82-78, and then had 11 points to spark an 18-5 Lakers' run to start the fourth quarter for a 100-83 lead. The Spurs followed by outscoring the Lakers 14-2 to make it 102-97 with 2:25 left, and a dunk by David Robinson with 1:11 to play made it 104-100. Bryant surpassed his previous career high of 40 points by hitting a jumper with 51 seconds to go. Brian Shaw's foul shot with 33.2 seconds left and two more by Bryant with 26.5 seconds to play completed the scoring. "Kobe did a great job of hitting some really big shots," San Antonio's Tim Duncan said. "We turned up our defense and were right in front of him on every one of those shots, with a hand in his face, but he just kept hitting them." "Kobe got into a comfortable zone, and you really can't stop a guy when he's comfortable like that," said Derek Anderson of the Spurs. Duncan led the Spurs with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Sean Elliott added a season-high 19 points and Robinson had 16 points and 10 rebounds. The Lakers, 121-88 losers Thursday night in Seattle, took it out on the Spurs in the first half, dominating throughout in taking a 62-42 lead. Duncan had only five points and four rebounds at that stage, compared with 23 points and nine rebounds for O'Neal. However, Duncan scored eight points to spark a 16-2 San Antonio run at the beginning of the third quarter, trimming the Lakers' lead to 64-58, and the Spurs took a 74-73 lead -- their first since the game's opening minute -- on two free throws by Avery Johnson with 3:06 left in the period. O'Neal had only two free throws in the quarter until making a dunk with 1:12 to play in the period to give the Lakers a 77-76 lead, and they were on top the rest of the way. "They're going to be a team who'll be there, I think," Harper said of the Spurs. "They've always had their way with us," O'Neal acknowledged. O'Neal said the Lakers lost their edge in the third quarter and made some mistakes. "We came out kind of lackadaisical; they came out with a lot of energy," he said. "We got it back in the fourth quarter." O'Neal, who had a season-low 13 points against San Antonio last month, scored his team's first five points and had 10 in the first 4:04 of play. Duncan left at that juncture after picking up his second foul, and didn't return until early in the second quarter with the Spurs trailing 32-25. The Lakers scored 10 straight points -- six by Bryant -- for a 56-37 lead late in the period.
Notes: The game was the fourth in five nights for the Lakers, whose loss at Seattle was their worst since Jan. 9, 1995, when they were beaten in Portland 129-83. O'Neal was playing for the Orlando Magic at that time. ... Duncan has 13 double-doubles in 15 games this season, while O'Neal has 11 in 16. ... The Lakers have won eight straight home games since a 97-92 loss to Utah in their home opener. ... San Antonio's 8-0 record at home is the best in the NBA. However, the Spurs are 2-5 on the road, including losses in their last three games. ... Los Angeles won six straight games over San Antonio before the Spurs began their recent domination by winning the final game between the teams in the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season. ... San Antonio's 105-81 victory over Los Angeles 10 months ago was the Lakers' most lopsided loss of last season. They responded by winning their next 19 games. ... The Lakers outrebounded the Spurs 46-37, but committed 14 turnovers to only eight for San Antonio.
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