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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- So many coaches have tried to make
Shaquille O'Neal a better free- throw shooter. After his 3-year-old
daughter Taahirah's advice, he was perfect.
"Of course she really doesn't know the game, but today I called
her and said 'Daddy loves you,' " O'Neal said, "and she said 'Good
luck Daddy, and bend your knees,' so that game is for her."
|  | | Kobe Bryant missed 10 of 15 field-goal attempts but still scored 18 points. |
O'Neal, who usually shoots about 50 percent from the line, was
9-for-9 from there Sunday, including 6-for-6 in the fourth quarter,
as the Los Angeles Lakers used a dominant second half to beat the
Portland Trail Blazers 103-91 and take a 3-1 lead in the Western
Conference finals.
"I felt like Pete Maravich -- that guy from LSU," O'Neal said,
grinning at the reference to his old school.
Glen Rice celebrated his 33rd birthday with his biggest game of
the playoffs for the Lakers, who can advance to the finals for the
first time since 1991 with a home-court victory on Tuesday.
"We always knew if we play the type of game that we're capable
of playing, we can win anywhere," O'Neal said. "I think certain
people forgot that we were a pretty good road team."
Rice scored 21 points as the Lakers swept two on the road from
the Blazers, who had been 5-0 at home in the postseason before this
awful weekend.
"I told Glen to do the same thing I did on my birthday,"
O'Neal said. "On my birthday, I shot it every time. I told him
'When you get it, shoot it.' "
Rice scored 12 points in the decisive third quarter. Since his
arrival in Los Angeles last season, Rice has had a hard time
fitting in. Not so Sunday.
"The third quarter was definitely the most I've felt being in
the flow," Rice said. "They were looking for me and setting
screens. It was a lot of fun. ... If I can get people to set
screens like that for me, I can have a field day."
O'Neal had 25 points and 11 rebounds, but his most remarkable
statistic came from the foul line.
"I told him he needs to frame that little stat sheet,"
teammate Kobe Bryant said. "He told me he was hot. He said, 'Bring
it to me. I feel good. I'm feeling it.' "
A 52 percent free throw shooter in the regular season and 45
percent in the playoffs, O'Neal made Portland coach Mike Dunleavy's
Hack-a-Shaq tactic look silly with his perfection at the line.
"The defensive strategy to foul Shaq really backfired today on
them," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said, "and it really sewed the
game up for us."
Bryant had 18 points, despite 5-for-15 shooting, along with
seven assists for the Lakers, while Ron Harper, who hit the
game-winner in Game 3, also scored 18 points, his most in these
playoffs.
"They made a lot of shots," Dunleavy said. "They made all
their free throws. We played an excellent first half but shot
ourselves in the foot. We missed five or six open layups."
The Lakers were 31-for-34 at the foul line and could have set a
franchise record had John Salley not missed two free throws late in
the game.
Rasheed Wallace had career playoff-highs of 34 points and 13
rebounds, including 18 points in the fourth quarter, but he didn't
get much help when the Blazers needed it most. Steve Smith scored
20 points, Arvydas Sabonis had 14 and Scottie Pippen 11. However,
Pippen was just 4-for-12 from the field and committed five
turnovers.
Only six teams have come back from a 3-1 deficit to win a
series.
"I know in my heart we can still win this series," Wallace
said. "We just have to stay alive. We've got to win Tuesday or
we'll start working on next season."
The Lakers shot 70 percent (14-for-20) in the third quarter,
outscoring Portland 34-19 to take a 76-66 lead entering the fourth.
The Blazers shot 29 percent (5-for-17) in the third.
"They played a great game today," Pippen said. "I don't know
that if we played well, it could have helped us, as well as they
played."
Rice had averaged just 9.2 points per game in the series and
12.4 in the playoffs.
Los Angeles trailed 47-42 at halftime. But Rice hit a 3-pointer
and a 21-footer to trigger a 9-1 spurt that put Los Angeles up
55-52 with 7:01 left in the third.
The Lakers scored nine in a row at the end of the third and
start of the fourth to take an 80-66 lead on Robert Horry's layup
with 7:01 to play. Portland's Bonzi Wells missed two free throws
and Sabonis couldn't make an open layup during the run.
With Rice on the bench with four fouls, Wallace scored six
consecutive points to cut it to 80-72 with 8:37 to play, but
Portland never got any closer.
Much as they did in Game 3, the Blazers were strong early,
taking a 17-6 lead.
But Portland missed four uncontested layups in the first 15
minutes and the Lakers used a 17-2 run to take 31-27 lead on
Bryant's 3-pointer with 7:22 left in the half. Eight of the Lakers'
points in the run came on offensive rebounds.
Then it was Portland's turn. Wallace, after a 2-for-9 start, had
a three-point play and a 3-pointer in a 10-0 run as the Blazers
went up 37-31.
Portland led 47-42 at the break on Smith's third 3-pointer 1.2
seconds before the buzzer.
Game notes
The Lakers were without reserve guard Brian Shaw, suspended
for the game for leaving the bench during a fracas between Pippen
and Rick Fox in Game 2. Near the end of the game O'Neal donned
Shaw's jersey on the bench. ... Pippen had three steals and is
three short of the career playoff record of 376 held by Michael
Jordan. ... Bryant was scoreless in the first quarter, missing all
three of his shots after scoring 14 in the first quarter of Game 3.
... Pippen and Dunleavy both drew technicals from Bennett
Salvatore. .. Portland's Greg Anthony had three fouls in four
minutes on the court in the first half. ... Los Angeles was called
for illegal defense three times. ... Portland is 1-7 in the
conference finals, 0-4 at home, the last two seasons. ... The
Lakers' reserves outscored Portland's 19-8.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
LA Lakers Clubhouse
Portland Clubhouse
Wallace's strong fourth quarter can't bring Blazers back
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Ron Harper talks about Lakers not being complacent in Game 5.
wav: 128 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Robert Horry says the Lakers came out focused in Game 4.
wav: 101 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Shaq talks about receiving coaching tips from his daughter.
wav: 97 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Rasheed Wallace knows that the Blazers still have a chance to win the series.
wav: 110 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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