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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Shaquille O'Neal called it a goaltending
tip-dunk.
|  | | Seattle's Desmond Mason slams down a rebound off a missed free throw in the final seconds of regulation to tie the game at 93-93. much to the chagrin of the Lakers. |
Nate McMillan said no way.
McMillan and his side got the call on Desmond Mason's game-tying
dunk with 4.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter Sunday night, and
the Seattle SuperSonics went on to beat the short-handed Los
Angeles Lakers 109-97 in overtime.
The Sonics scored the last seven points of regulation and the
first 11 of the extra period as they completed a sweep of their
season series with the Lakers 4-0.
"I think it's a matchup thing," said McMillan, the Sonics'
coach. "Who would think that we would sweep the Lakers?
The Lakers, who lost for only the third time in 11 games, played
without Kobe Bryant, sidelined with a viral infection.
With Bryant out and Isaiah Rider serving the third of a
five-game suspension for failing to comply with the NBA's drug
policy, the Lakers had only 10 players in uniform.
It became nine early in the second quarter when Robert Horry
picked up two technical fouls, calling for automatic ejection. The
Lakers led at the time 41-31.
Mason soared over Mark Madsen to dunk the second missed
free throw by Rashard Lewis, making it 93-all. Mike Penberthy
didn't come close on a long 3-pointer as time expired, sending the
game into overtime.
"That was no goaltending, that was two points," McMillan said.
"It looked clean to me, it was a bang-bang play," said
Seattle's Brent Barry, who scored 20 points.
"It was good," Mason said with a smile. "It wasn't
goaltending, they know it wasn't goaltending."
O'Neal led the Lakers with 29 points and seven rebounds, but
fouled out with 5:32 left in the fourth quarter, picking up his
last two fouls in a 12-second span.
He made no attempt to hide his anger afterward, and it wasn't
just over Mason's dunk.
"I've never had four offensive fouls in my life, called by the
same guy," he said, referring to Nolan Fine. "It was a horrible
job done by those three officials."
Terry Durham and Hank Armstrong worked with Fine.
When asked about the possibility of being fined for his remarks,
O'Neal let loose a stream of profanities, saying among other
things: "I don't care, they stunk tonight. If they want to take
the money, they can take it double. Money doesn't rule me."
Gary Payton led the Sonics with 24 points -- six in overtime -- and 11 assists. Lewis added 21, Vin Baker scored 17 and Mason had
14 including the game's biggest two.
Rick Fox had 18 points and nine rebounds for the Lakers.
"As one of our coaches said, 'We snatched defeat out of the
jaws of victory tonight,"' Lakers coach Phil Jackson said.
The Lakers led 84-80 when O'Neal left, and 93-86 after a follow
shot by Horace Grant, but the Sonics got a 3-pointer by Lewis with
52 seconds to play and a layup by Payton with 29 seconds left
before Mason's game-tying dunk.
The Sonics won despite going the first 8:37 of the fourth
quarter without a field goal, missing their first 12 attempts
before Lewis made a 3-pointer.
The Sonics, who beat the Lakers in three previous games this
season by an average of 17.3 points, snapped a four-game losing
streak and won for only the fourth time in 14 games.
"They had our number this season, that's just how it worked
out," said Brian Shaw, who had 11 points, 10 rebounds and seven
assists while playing 50 minutes. "We have to keep our head up, we
were short-handed tonight."
Neither team led by more than five points in the third period,
which ended with Seattle on top 76-72. The Lakers then went on
21-10 run before the Sonics turned the game around.
Game notes
Bryant, the NBA's second-leading scorer with a 29.6-point
average, missed three games last month because of a sprained ankle,
with the Lakers winning all three. ... Tyronn Lue, a three-year
veteran, made his first career start as a replacement for Bryant.
... The Lakers hadn't been swept in a season series of at least
four games since the 1993-94 season, when four teams including
Seattle accomplished the feat. The Lakers were 33-49 that season
and failed to make the playoffs. ... The Sonics hadn't beaten a
team with a winning record since Jan. 23, when they beat the Lakers
91-80. ... Barry, slowed by a strained left groin, played for the
first time in nine games.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Seattle Clubhouse
LA Lakers Clubhouse
Bryant sidelined with viral infection, listed as day-to-day
RECAPS
New York 86
Miami 83
Philadelphia 97
Boston 91
Toronto 101
Vancouver 84
Sacramento 105
Utah 90
Detroit 95
Indiana 78
Cleveland 124
Milwaukee 110
Phoenix 94
Houston 92
Dallas 111
LA Clippers 93
Seattle 109
LA Lakers 97
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