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Posted: Thursday January 13, 2000 12:19 AM
MILWAUKEE (Ticker) -- Shaq and Kobe joined Magic and Worthy. They've got a long way to go before joining Wilt and West but don't seem to care.
Shaquille O'Neal scored 27 points and Kobe Bryant added 22 as the Los Angeles Lakers matched the second-longest winning streak in franchise history at 16 games with a 103-94 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Glen Rice added 20 points for the Lakers (31-5), who have not lost since a 103-91 setback at Sacramento on December 8. Their current streak matched the 16 straight wins put together by the 1990-91 Lakers, who were led by Magic Johnson and James Worthy and was the last Los Angeles squad to reach the NBA Finals.
"All it means is we've won 16 games, nothing else," said Rice.
"It's just another win," added O'Neal, who also pulled down 10 rebounds and uncharacteristically made 7-of-10 free throws.
Lakers coach Phil Jackson has put together the second-longest streak of his career. He guided the Chicago Bulls to 18 wins in a row during the 1995-96 season.
However, O'Neal, Bryant and Jackson have a long way to go to break the team record. Led by the late Wilt Chamberlain and current Lakers vice president Jerry West, the 1971-72 squad won 33 straight games, the longest streak in pro sports history.
"We try to win every game," said Bryant, who made 10-of-19 shots. "It's too early to even think about those Laker teams."
Ray Allen scored 25 points and Sam Cassell added 24 and 13 assists for the Bucks, who made 28-of-28 free throws and still trailed by as many as 21 points. The NBA record for most free throws without a miss is 39 by Utah on December 7, 1982.
Milwaukee had a six-game home winning streak snapped and has not beaten Los Angeles in eight meetings since November 5, 1994.
The Bucks hung with the Lakers until midway through the second quarter. Los Angeles rattled off nine straight points, including two dunks by O'Neal, to open a 45-36 lead with 3:56 remaining in the first half.
The Lakers led 56-48 at halftime and turned to their defense in the third quarter, holding the Bucks to 29 percent (5-of-17) from the field. Consecutive 3-pointers by Rice pushed the lead to 75-62 and Los Angeles took a 77-64 advantage into the final period.
Milwaukee's Glenn Robinson, who scored 22 points, opened the fourth quarter with a jumper. But Bryant and O'Neal had dunks in a 10-0 burst that gave Los Angeles its largest lead at 87-66 with 8:06 remaining. The Bucks got no closer than the final margin.
Ron Harper scored 16 points for the Lakers, who shot 48 percent (39-of-81) and held a 42-37 rebounding advantage. The Bucks shot below 40 percent (31-of-78), including 4-of-16 from 3-point range.
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