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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- This was Hack-a-Shaq in hyperdrive, Hack-a-Shaq hysteria, a fusillade of free throws unlike anything
ever seen in 54 years of NBA basketball.
SUMMING IT ALL UP
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Quote of the Night
"In the past, like in high school or something, I would have played. I would have just shot the ball every time. Over here, they need me to play defense."
-- Kobe Bryant when asked if he could have returned to the game.
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Bryant |
ESPN.com's Report Card
Guess who was our player of the game? No, this is not a recording, actually. Shaquille O'Neal's field-goal attempts were way down from Game 1, so what does he do? He breaks the record for most free throws in a game. We're not talking a Finals game -- any NBA game. Shaq also had some fun on the boards, too. Click here for our comprehensive Report Card for Game 2 as we break down everyone's game.
Why the Lakers won
Because the Pacers couldn't hit enough of their shots. Despite Shaq dominating on both ends again, and despite Glen Rice and Ron Harper each scoring 21 points, the Lakers won because Indiana shot 38 percent from the field and L.A. made 48 percent. But having Shaq get 40 and 23, it didn't hurt.
Why the Pacers lost
Reggie Miller played better, but still only made seven of 16 shots. Austin Croshere played a nice all-around game, but hit only six of 15 field goals. See a theme here? The Pacers could have won this game. They were in it late in the fourth, for sure. But making so few shots and a mere 5-for-20 from 3-point range catches up to you over 48 minutes.
Number of the Game
Shaq has done some pretty amazing things in his career, and getting to the line this many times has to be considered one of them. He made less than half (18 of 39), but it was enough. The old record was 34, set by Wilt Chamberlain, while the postseason record was set by Bob Cousy with 32. |
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Final Word: Mitch Lawrence
"The Pacers really blew a golden opportunity tonight. With Kobe out of the game for 39 minutes, they still can't beat the Lakers? Los Angeles is still formidable, but this injury could make it a series, make it competitive when it goes back to Indiana. With Kobe in the lineup, it's just a mismatch.
As for the 56-minute ordeal that was the fourth quarter with the Hack-a-Shaq, the Pacers had to do it. Can't fault them, it gives them the best chance to win and makes it a more competitive game."
Shooting for a million
Jeff Christensen had his shot. In fact, he had four of them. But he didn't get his million. A 32-year-old network administrator from
Wisconsin, Christensen made just one of the four big-money shots in the 1-800-CALL-ATT Million Dollar Shootout at halftime. With George Gervin at his side, Christensen made his first shot, a layup worth $25,000, but missed the
next three as the Staples Center crowd groaned. Nice crowd.
Final word from L.A.
So how do you feel about Hack-A-Shaq? You're bound to hear a lot about Larry Bird's strategy to send the freebie-challenged center to the line over and over and over again. In fairness to the Pacers, Shaq had already gone to the line 23 times when the final quarter began. That means only 16 free throws in the fourth. Hey, Mike Dunleavy did better than that in the Portland opener!
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Shaquille O'Neal was pushed and pulled, grabbed and slapped,
tackled and toppled. It didn't matter whether he had the ball or
not.
When it was all over, he had attempted an astounding 39 foul
shots to knock Wilt Chamberlain, Bob Cousy and Bob Pettit out of
the record books, making 18 of them as part another incredible
statistical performance.
Behind O'Neal's 40 points, 24 rebounds and 46 percent free-throw
shooting, the Los Angeles Lakers overcame an injury to Kobe Bryant
to defeat the foul-happy Indiana Pacers 111-104 Friday night for a
2-0 lead in the NBA Finals.
"I'm not a fan of Hack-a-Shaq," Indiana's Reggie Miller said.
"I like to play straight-up, old-style basketball. But it almost
worked for us tonight."
In the entire history of the league, no player had ever taken so
many free throws in a single game. Chamberlain set the overall
record of 34 in 1962, Cousy set the postseason record of 32 in
1953, Pettit set the Finals record of 24 in 1958.
Shaq left them all in the dust, making just enough of them to
allow the Lakers to maintain a slim lead down the stretch.
Game 3 is Sunday, and the Pacers will be hard-pressed to come up
with a crazier strategy to turn this series around and try to
become just the third team in league history to come back from such
a deficit in the finals.
If committing 38 fouls couldn't do the trick, even with Bryant
sitting out the final 3½ quarters with a sprained ankle, maybe
nothing will.
"Whatever it takes to win a ballgame, that's what we're going
to do," Indiana coach Larry Bird said. "If it takes a four-hour
game, that's what we're going to do. We're down 2-0, and we have to
find a way to win one."
Glen Rice and Ron Harper both stepped up in Bryant's absence,
scoring 21 points each. Harper was aggressive with the ball,
driving repeatedly to the hoop, while Rice found his shooting touch
and made five 3-pointers after scoring just three points in Game 1.
Jalen Rose scored 30 to lead Indiana, Austin Croshere added 24
and Reggie Miller had 21 -- just two coming in the fourth quarter.
Sam Perkins and Dale Davis fouled out from hacking Shaq, while Rik Smits committed five fouls and Miller, Mark Jackson and
Croshere had four each. Of the 10 Pacers who played, each fouled
O'Neal at least once.
Of O'Neal's 39 foul shots, 16 came in the fourth quarter when
the Pacers employed the strategy of sending the 7-footer -- a 49
percent foul shooter in the playoffs -- to the line repeatedly.
|  | | They could knock him over on occasion, but the Pacers couldn't keep Shaquille O'Neal down. |
O'Neal, coming off a 43-point, 19-rebound performance in Game 1,
never made two out of two in the fourth -- but he never went 0-for-2
either.
And although the Pacers drew within three points several times,
they never completely caught up.
The Hack-a-Shaq strategy heated up in the final three minutes.
Every time the Lakers inbounded, the Pacers fouled him. He took 12
free throws in a span of 1:46, making half of them.
"I was trying to get myself to calm down. I was looking over at
my father. He told me to take my time, follow through and shoot,"
O'Neal said.
His success rate was good enough to help the Lakers overcome
what could have been a devastating loss. Bryant went down in
obvious pain just 7½ minutes into the game when his foot landed on
Rose's foot after Bryant shot a jumper.
He tried to get up, stumbled down and then repeated the process
again. Hopping around on his uninjured foot and not knowing in
which direction to turn, he looked like the human equivalent of a
thoroughbred horse pulling up lame with a leg fracture.
The Staples Center crowd went silent as Bryant limped off the
court and to the locker room, where he underwent X-rays that came
up negative. He was later seen walking down a hallway near the
locker room, unable to put any weight on the injured foot. The
Lakers listed him as day-to-day.
"It's a good thing we have a cushion, having gone up 2-0, so
it's not a do-or-die thing if the doctors don't think I should play
Sunday," Bryant said.
The Lakers started pulling away early in the fourth after
Indiana cut its deficit to two with 8:25 left. Harper drove for a bank
shot, Derek Fisher hit a wide-open 3-pointer as the Lakers swung
the ball out of a double-team, and O'Neal went 1-for-2 from the
line.
That made it 86-78, but Indiana came back as O'Neal was whistled
for his fifth foul -- a highly questionable call that appeared to be
a clean block of Travis Best's shot. Best made both shots to start
a 6-0 run that made it 86-84.
Rice answered with a 3-pointer, O'Neal scored the Lakers' next
two baskets and the stage was set for Indiana to start fouling.
That they did, but to no avail -- just like the Portland Trail
Blazers found out in the Western Conference finals when they sent
O'Neal to the line 25 times in the fourth quarter of Game 1.
"When the game is two to six points, I can understand it,"
Miller said of the strategy. "Down 15 like the Portland series, I
don't understand it. But if he's shooting free throws like he was
tonight, then I could see it."
Despite Bryant's injury and O'Neal's 5-for-17 shooting from the
foul line, the Lakers still held a 52-49 halftime lead as O'Neal
scored 15, Rice 13 and Harper 11.
Miller served notice early that he was eager to shoot himself
out of his slump, making his first attempt -- an 18-footer -- on the
Pacers' first possession. Breaking from their usual habit of trying
to get Smits involved early on offense, the Pacers looked to go to
Miller or Rose nearly every time downcourt.
Rose finished the first quarter with 10 points, Miller had eight
and O'Neal had just six. Los Angeles stayed ahead early in the
second quarter, but the Pacers stayed within striking distance and
finally regained the lead when Rose followed an airball by O'Neal
by pushing the ball into the lane for a short turnaround that made
it 38-37 with 6:32 left.
The Lakers held a 52-49 halftime lead, and the score was tied
60-60 with 7:09 left in the third quarter when Smits picked up his
fifth foul. Undaunted, the Pacers pulled ahead, Miller gaining
confidence as he hit a wide-open 3-pointer and a two-handed jam --
both on fast breaks.
Indiana's lead didn't last long, though, and the Lakers took a
73-69 lead into the fourth.
Game notes
Cousy of the Boston Celtics shot 32 free throws against
Syracuse in a quadruple-overtime playoff game March 21, 1953. There
were 128 total free-throw attempts in that game -- 32 more than
Indiana and LA combined for. ... Pettit, who played for the St.
Louis Hawks, shot 24 free throws against Boston in the finals on
April 9, 1958. ... Actress Pamela Anderson was among the courtside
celebrities, sporting a temporary "Man of Steel" tattoo just like
O'Neal's on her right arm. Tracy McGrady of the Toronto Raptors sat
directly behind her wearing a black doo-rag and a red NBA
Entertainment credential.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Indiana Clubhouse
LA Lakers Clubhouse
Indiana at Los Angeles
Frozen moment: No time for the pain
X factor: Rice heats up in a hurry
Bryant leaves game with ankle injury
Rice, Harper step up after Bryant goes out
RECAPS
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Spinning off the defender, Shaq puts in the alley-oop.
avi: 628 k
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Reggie Miller goes down hard driving to the hoop.
avi: 498 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Shaq muscles his way in for a dunk.
avi: 444 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Shaq has a block party in L.A.
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ESPN Radio's Dr. Jack Ramsay dissects Game 2 of the NBA Finals.
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ESPN's Dan Patrick talks to Rick Fox after the Lakers Game 2 victory.
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ESPN's Ed Pinckney gives his analysis of the NBA Finals on SportsCenter.
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 The opportunity was there for Coach Larry Bird and the Pacers.
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Kobe Bryant hopes to be ready to play for Game 3.
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Winning in Indiana will be a difficult atsk for Shaq and the Lakers.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
A frustrated Rik Smits has seen this before.
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Reggie Miller and the Pacers couldn't take advantage of a Kobe-less Lakers.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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