RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Shaquille O'Neal's three-game shooting slump,
or whatever it should be called, came to an abrupt end Tuesday
night.
O'Neal made 16 of 21 shots in scoring 34 points and pulled down
19 rebounds as the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers put
together their best offensive effort of the young season in beating
the Denver Nuggets 119-103.
O'Neal shot only 19-of-46 in scoring 51 points in the Lakers'
previous three games, two of them losses.
Averaging 26.7 points and making 54 percent of his shots
entering the game, O'Neal has been hampered by sore thumbs. They
didn't appear to bother him against the Nuggets, who had nobody to
match up with him.
"They're so sore I can't even wipe my nose, they're killing
me," O'Neal said. "I was just playing through it. I've been here
five years, I've played through every knick-knack injury known to
man. I'm not going to go into the front office and say, `My thumbs
hurt, I need a couple days off.' That's not me. I'm going to play
until my thumbs fall off."
Lakers coach Phil Jackson said O'Neal's offensive success was
simply a matter of his being more aggressive.
"He had a terrific game tonight, a game we've grown to expect
to see," Jackson said. "He was getting bodied the last couple of
games by some good defensive centers -- (David) Robinson, Hakeem
(Olajuwon)."
Kobe Bryant had 31 points and nine assists, and Horace Grant and
Isaiah Rider added 11 points each for the Lakers.
Grant called O'Neal's last three games "just a period of
adjustment, not a slump."
"He did other things out there when he went through that
adjustment -- rebounding, distributing, blocking some shots," Grant
said.
Antonio McDyess led the Nuggets with a season-high 28 points and
eight rebounds, and Nick Van Exel had 17 points and 11 assists
against his former teammates.
"They beat us in cruise control tonight," Van Exel said. "You
would think they'd be at a different speed, but tonight they beat
us playing 60 percent. And we still couldn't beat them."
The teams meet again Saturday night in Denver, prompting coach
Dan Issel to say, "I'd rather play the Clippers again."
"It was like we decided halfway through the third quarter that
we couldn't win, so we quit playing," Issel said. "They've got
two great players, there's no question about that, and they can
pretty much turn it on and turn it off whenever they want to."
After being held scoreless in the first half, Grant scored the
first seven Los Angeles points of the third quarter before O'Neal's
follow shot gave the Lakers a 69-63 lead, and a 6-0 spurt put the
Lakers on top 78-67 midway through the period.
The Nuggets weren't closer than seven points after that. It was
82-75 before the Lakers scored the final nine points of the third
quarter and the first three of the fourth for a 94-75 lead.
With O'Neal on the bench, Denver outscored the Lakers 12-2 to
draw within 10 points with 7:20 remaining. But that was as close as
the Nuggets would get.
O'Neal made his first five shots and had 15 points and five
rebounds in the first quarter, which ended with the Lakers on top
32-29. He had only 14 points and five rebounds in a 105-99 victory
over Houston on Sunday night.
Los Angeles went on an 11-4 run for an eight-point lead -- the
largest of the first half for either team -- before the Nuggets
scored the final five points of the half to make it 60-57.
Game notes
Lakers guard Derek Fisher, who underwent surgery to repair
a stress fracture in his right foot Sept. 20, had a bone scan
before the game. Team spokesman John Black said Fisher is healing
pretty much on schedule, meaning he probably won't play in a game
before March. ... The Lakers have beaten the Nuggets eight straight
times in Los Angeles. The last time the teams met at Staples
Center, the Lakers rallied from a 17-point deficit in the third
quarter for a 106-98 victory last February. ... The Nuggets, 10-31
on the road last season, are winless in three road games this
season. ... Denver center Raef LaFrentz sat out the second half due
to a contusion on the third knuckle of his left hand. X-rays were
negative. He had five points and five rebounds in 15 minutes. ...
Lennox Lewis, who retained his heavyweight boxing championship by
scoring a unanimous 12-round decision over David Tua on Saturday
night, attended the game.
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NBA Scoreboard
Denver Clubhouse
LA Lakers Clubhouse
RECAPS
Atlanta 99
Portland 97
Cleveland 96
Golden State 86
Miami 89
Charlotte 86
Sacramento 96
Orlando 82
Houston 110
Chicago 83
San Antonio 86
Utah 79
Seattle 96
New York 75
LA Lakers 119
Denver 103
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