|
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Multimedia Central Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities Work in Sports
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|  |
SAN ANTONIO (Ticker) -- Where do you want your asterisk, Phil Jackson? Tim Duncan, whose knee injury ended the San Antonio Spurs' hopes of repeating as NBA champions last season, scored 22 points and grabbed 17 rebounds, continuing to dominate the Los Angeles Lakers in a 91-81 victory. The Spurs, angered by Lakers coach Jackson's remark last season that San Antonio's 1999 NBA championship should receive an asterisk because it came in the lockout-shortened season, kept Shaquille O'Neal out of the offense and forced him to chase Duncan and David Robinson on defense. "There's definitely a rivalry forming," Robinson said. "With them being the champs last year and us the year before, it really makes things exciting." O'Neal, who was neutralized Tuesday night by Houston Rockets center Hakeem Olajuwon, shot 5-of-13 from the field and 3-of-10 from the line, scoring just 13 points. Only Kobe Bryant stepped up to pick up the slack, coming through with 32 points, eight assists and three steals. "He's unbelievable, just great," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "There is no defense for when (Bryant) rolls up over you. Sean (Elliott) and Derek (Anderson) did a good job tonight of contesting his shots. He's a future Hall of Famer." Horace Grant scored 14 points and Roberty Horry added 12, but no one else scored more than four points for the Lakers, who have lost two games in two nights. "I predicted after about 10 games that we would be around 5-5, so we expected this," Jackson said. "We are a team that builds momentum." Like his coach, O'Neal saw no need for concern, but also threw no more oil on the fire. He painted a different picture of the Spurs than he did on "Late Show with David Letterman," when he referred to them as "a WNBA team." "The Spurs are a great team that plays with great team chemistry," said O'Neal, who matched Duncan with 17 rebounds. "They capitalized very well on our mistakes and we had way too many turnovers. The Spurs are tough because they play together." Robinson and Anderson scored 16 points apiece and Avery Johnson and Antonio Daniels each dished out seven assists for the Spurs, who have beaten the Lakers in nine of the last 10 meetings, including playoffs. Duncan averaged 28 points and 14 rebounds in the teams' four meetings last season. San Antonio won the season series, 3-1. The Spurs led most of the night. Although they could not put away the game until the closing moments, anytime the Lakers challenged, they always had an answer. Los Angeles never led after early in the second quarter. Robinson capped an 8-0 run when he hit a 17-footer from the left side that gave the Spurs a 22-14 lead with 3:59 to go in the first quarter. He also hit a 14-footer from the left and an 18-footer from the right in the surge, forcing O'Neal to come out of the paint. But Bryant got the Lakers back on track, scoring nine points in a 12-0 run the rest of the quarter, which ended with Los Angeles holding a 26-22 lead. San Antonio came right back to start the second quarter, breaking out with an 18-2 run to grab a 40-28 advantage with 6:35 left in the half. Duncan started the run with back-to-back jumpers and Malik Rose, who scored six in the stretch, finished it with a dunk and layup. The Spurs could not shake the Lakers. After taking a 54-43 lead on Sean Elliott's dunk with 9:15 to go in the third quarter, San Antonio saw Los Angeles come roaring back. Horace Grant scored six points and Bryant four, carrying the Lakers on a 12-2 run that O'Neal finished with a demonstrative dunk with 5:25 left, cutting the deficit to 56-55. Daniels scored four points and had a pair of assists, sparking the Spurs on a 12-5 surge the rest of the quarter. San Antonio led 68-60 heading into the fourth period. With O'Neal contributing just two points and one rebound in the fourth quarter, Los Angeles never got any closer than six points. "Sometimes even Superman runs into kryptonite," Lakers forward Rick Fox said. "Tonight he just had an off night." The offense sputtered for the second staight night for the Lakers. They were coming off an 84-74 loss to Houston, their lowest output in a regular-season game since the club moved from Minneapolis in 1960.
|
