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Golden State of shock Warriors nip Lakers as Jamison nets 51
Updated: Thursday December 07, 2000 11:59 PM
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Shortly before the final minutes of their breathtaking, historic duel, Kobe Bryant leaned over to Antawn Jamison and winked. "I'm not going to let you outshine me tonight," Bryant said. The NBA scoring leader was wrong -- but not by much. Jamison scored 51 points for the second time in four days and won a scintillating battle with Bryant as the Golden State Warriors rallied in overtime for a 125-122 victory against the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night. Bryant also had a career-high 51 points, but Jamison matched Bryant's every move. It was the first NBA game in which two players scored 50 points since Dec. 14, 1962, when Wilt Chamberlain had 63 for the Warriors and Elgin Baylor scored 50 for the Lakers. "It seemed like the clock was going in slow-motion," Jamison said. "It seemed like we were throwing punches, and they came back throwing punches.
The final minutes of regulation and overtime indeed resembled a prize fight, with Jamison and Bryant going toe-to-toe. With the Lakers trailing in the final three minutes of overtime, Jamison and Bryant traded six straight high-pressure scores as the Oakland Arena roared with wild applause for both players. But the Lakers' Horace Grant missed a layup with six seconds left, and Jamison ripped the rebound away from Bryant. After Bob Sura made one free throw for Golden State, Bryant's long 3-pointer at the buzzer missed. "It just hurts to lose," Bryant said. "Forget the 50 points. It just hurts to lose this type of ballgame." Jamison, who went 21-of-29 from the field, scored 51 in a loss at Seattle on Sunday night to set his career high. He became the first player to score 50 points in consecutive games since Michael Jordan, who did it three consecutive times in April 1987. "Jamison can play. He can play, man," Bryant said. "That's the first time I've been involved in a game like that." Bryant, who set his previous career high with 43 last week against San Antonio, was 13-of-13 on free throws. Fifty-one points are the most scored by anyone in the NBA this season. "I never imagined having a game like that, and I bet Kobe didn't either," Jamison said. "Earlier [in the game], I wasn't even feeling it. I wasn't trying to do anything out of the ordinary. It just happened." Shaquille O'Neal had 25 points and 10 rebounds for the Lakers, who lost for just the second time in 10 games. Golden State got 24 points from Larry Hughes and snapped a six-game losing streak against the world champions. "It seemed like everything Jamison threw up went in, but they just played with a lot more enthusiasm than we did," O'Neal said. Sura had 16 points for Golden State, and Mookie Blaylock added 11 points and 10 assists. The win was redemption for the Warriors after last month's 111-91 loss at Staples Center. Though they're still at the bottom of the Pacific Division, the Warriors are showing progress -- and Jamison is showing signs of greatness. He became the first Golden State player to score more than 50 points in consecutive games since Rick Barry in 1967. "[Bryant] played a great game, but it was Jamison's night tonight," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "He was 21-of-29, and we just had a hard time putting the clamps on him." The Warriors looked strong during a first half in which they shot 61 percent and led 63-57, their best offensive output in any half this season. The Lakers jumped ahead with a 21-6 run early in the third quarter, but the Warriors finished regulation with a desperate 12-3 rally, led by six points from Jamison. O'Neal committed a flagrant foul on Vonteego Cummings with 1:33 left, and Cummings' free throws tied the score at 107. The teams were scoreless until the regulation buzzer, with Cummings missing a wild layup with 2.5 seconds left and Bryant coming up short on a jumper as time expired. The Lakers showed some early fatigue, likely from Tuesday night's 96-85 victory against Philadelphia. Los Angeles' three-game winning streak was snapped. Chris Mills didn't dress for Golden State with a sore right ankle, and rookie Chris Porter started in his place.
Notes: Isaiah Rider, an Oakland native, didn't play for the Lakers
amid reports he was late for the team plane. "I wasn't aware he
was late," Jackson said. "I just didn't think he was ready to
play the game tonight." ... Lakers rookie Mark Madsen, a Stanford
graduate and East Bay native, received a warm welcome from the
crowd midway through the second quarter. Los Angeles' Brian Shaw
and Greg Foster both hail from Oakland as well. ... Cummings,
activated from Golden State's injured list earlier in the day,
played 13 minutes with a clear mask on his face. Cummings missed
the Warriors' last 15 games with a broken bone in his face.
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