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LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Shaquille O'Neal asked to guard Tim Duncan.

Unfortunately for the San Antonio Spurs, his request was granted.

	Kobe Bryant had no trouble finding his way to the basket against Tim Duncan's Spurs.

O'Neal's defensive effort on Duncan was a key factor Saturday night as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the defending NBA champion Spurs 99-93.

Duncan surpassed his 23.8-point scoring average with 28 points and also had nine rebounds, but made only 8-of-23 attempts from the field. He entered the game having made shot 49.9 percent from the floor.

In addition, Duncan fouled out with two minutes remaining -- only the fourth time he's fouled out in two-plus NBA seasons and the first time this season.

"He's a fabulous player, I just tried to stay in front of him," said O'Neal, who led the Lakers with 32 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots.

"Shaquille was great out there tonight, he made a lot of big plays for them," Duncan said. "I thought they played a great team game. They're a very good team and they're playing very well right now. We are not, but hopefully we can turn it around."

The victory was the eighth straight and 15th in 16 games for the Lakers, whose 23-5 record is the NBA's best. The Spurs, meanwhile, lost for the seventh time in 12 games after winning 14 of 17 to start the season.

The game was the first between the teams since the Spurs swept in the Lakers in a second-round playoff series last May en route to their first NBA championship.

This, however, is a different Los Angeles team, starting at the top, where Jackson has the Lakers playing better defense than perhaps they ever dreamed of playing. And it paid off in this game.

"The Lakers are playing defense now," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "That's the difference. That's important and that wins games for you. They play like they're believing it now, and that's a credit to their coaching staff and players.

"I thought we did a heck of a job against a very good team -- probably the best in the league at this point."

O'Neal pointed to team focus and the new coaching staff as significant changes from the past.

"We just needed a staff to take us over the top," O'Neal said. "We think Phil Jackson can take us over the top. I'm glad he's here."

Jackson, hired by the Lakers following last season, coached the Chicago Bulls to six championships.

Glen Rice scored 25 points; Kobe Bryant added 18 despite making only 7-of-19 shots; and Robert Horry had 12 for the Lakers.

"We were embarrassed last year," Rice said of the playoff series against the Spurs. "We don't want to get embarrassed this year. We wanted to show we could compete and beat them. Tonight, we did."

Avery Johnson added 15 points and six assists, and Jaren Jackson had 13 points and eight rebounds for the Spurs. San Antonio's David Robinson was held to nine points, but had 19 rebounds.

The Spurs, who trailed most of the way, scored the first six points of the fourth quarter to take a 73-71 lead.

However, with O'Neal scoring seven points, Los Angeles responded by going on a 14-4 spurt. Bryant's three-point play with 5:11 remaining capped the run and made it 85-77. The Spurs didn't pose a serious threat after that.

The Spurs, who made just 12-of-39 field goal attempts in the first half, made their first four shots of the third quarter during a 9-0 run that put them ahead 51-50.

The Lakers responded by going on an 11-4 spurt for a 61-54 lead, and led 71-67 entering the final period.

In an obvious attempt to add offensive punch, Popovich started Jackson at forward in place of Chucky Brown. Jackson, making his first start of the season, was a key factor in San Antonio's sweep of the Lakers seven months ago.

The strategy failed at the outset, as the Spurs made only 5-of-24 shots in the first quarter, which ended with the Lakers leading 20-17.

O'Neal picked up his third foul with 4:10 left in the second quarter and sat out the rest of the first half. It was 36-27 when he left, and 50-42 at halftime.

Game notes
The nationally televised game was played before a capacity crowd of 18,997 at Staples Center. ... Marv Albert called the game, his first NBC play-by-play assignment since being rehired by the network. ... The Lakers activated forward-center Travis Knight and placed rookie guard John Celestand, who has tendinitis in his left knee, on the injured list. ... Brown, who had started all but one game previously this season, didn't play. ... Duncan failed to reach double figures in both points and rebounds for just the third time in 29 games this season. ... The game was the first of six straight at the Staples Center for the Lakers, who have an NBA-best 13-2 record at home. Two of the six are against the Los Angeles Clippers, who share the arena, with one designated as a Lakers road game. ... The Spurs, meanwhile, played the first of four straight road games. ... The Lakers have a league-best 10-3 road record, while the Spurs are just 7-8 away from home.