RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
DENVER (AP) -- DENVER (AP) _ For 41 minutes, the Los Angeles Lakers looked
perfectly comfortable without Shaquille O'Neal. For the last seven, they missed him.
Playing without their injured MVP, the Lakers wasted a 13-point
fourth-quarter lead as the Denver Nuggets rallied for an 87-86
victory Saturday night.
"This was a big disappointment," Lakers coach Phil Jackson
said. "This was a game that we gave away."
Antonio McDyess, able to roam the lane without O'Neal lurking in the middle, scored 28 points and George McCloud hit two 3-pointers to key Denver's comeback.
McDyess also had 18 rebounds and Nick Van Exel added 15 points
and 11 assists for the Nuggets, who outscored Los Angeles 18-4 over
the game's final seven minutes.
"Even though Shaq wasn't playing, it was a big win for us,"
McDyess said. "They're still the Lakers and they have a good team
without Shaq. They have a great team with him."
With O'Neal and his 28-point scoring average sidelined by a
sprained left ankle and a sore Achilles' tendon, Los Angeles turned
to Kobe Bryant and Horace Grant for offense.
Bryant finished with 32 points -- his fifth straight game with at
least 30 points -- but did not get the ball in the final seconds
when the Lakers failed to get a shot off on their final possession.
"We felt Shaq's absence all night," Grant said. "The main
focus is to win, regardless if he's out there or not. We had the
opportunity. We just didn't get it done. It's as simple as that."
Bryant, who was 10-for-25 from the field, declined to talk to reporters after the game.
Grant was effective in O'Neal's absence with 18 points and 12
rebounds, but the Lakers looked lost in the final quarter without
their 7-foot-1, 315-pound center.
Leading 82-69 after Bryant's reverse dunk, the Lakers missed six
straight shots and committed two turnovers while Denver went on a
17-0 run.
"That was the height of inefficiency at the end of the game,"
Jackson said. "I don't know what we were thinking about, shooting
3-pointers like that. We didn't have penetration on our minds."
McCloud scored eight points and McDyess had five during the
spurt, which ended when Bryant hit two free throws to make it 86-84
with 1:39 left.
James Posey made one of two free throws 10 seconds later, and
Bryant answered with a jumper with 1:18 remaining.
Neither team could score in the final 78 seconds, and the
Lakers' final chance ended in chaos as they could not execute a
play designed for Isaiah Rider in the low post.
"I looked behind me and saw a few white jerseys," Rider said.
"It was all bunched up. You know the rest."
Rider kicked the ball out to the perimeter, and Brian Shaw's
rushed 3-point attempt came well after the buzzer.
"I've seen too many games where a team is without their star
player and still manages to win," Denver coach Dan Issel said.
"They're the world champions because they have a pretty good team,
not because they have Shaq and Kobe."
Bryant and Grant combined to score the Lakers' final 14 points
of the third quarter to help Los Angeles take a 71-62 lead into the
final 12 minutes.
The Lakers, who beat Denver by 16 on Tuesday, trailed by 11
after the first quarter but held the Nuggets to 4-for-17 shooting
in the second to take a 51-47 lead at the half.
Game notes
Nuggets G Voshon Lenard had a five-point play in the first
quarter. He was fouled while hitting a 3-pointer, then tipped in
his own missed free throw when the Lakers failed to block out. ...
McDyess recorded his 500th career blocked shot to join Alex English
and Dikembe Mutombo as the only players in Denver history with
5,000 points, 2,000 rebounds and 500 blocks. ... Bryant was
averaging 21 shots per game. He had 19 after three quarters. ...
The Lakers entered the game shooting a league-leading 47.7 percent
but shot 38 percent against Denver.
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NBA Scoreboard
LA Lakers Clubhouse
Denver Clubhouse
Howard-Cooper: Laker bandwagon still hot
RECAPS
Toronto 111
Milwaukee 102
Washington 109
Boston 89
Minnesota 94
Atlanta 84
Miami 86
Portland 80
New Jersey 97
Indiana 92
Houston 94
Phoenix 89
Denver 87
LA Lakers 86
Utah 109
Chicago 64
Dallas 91
Vancouver 88
Seattle 86
LA Clippers 83
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