RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- It may be the Spurs who are snickering now.
Shaquille O'Neal drew lots of laughs from David Letterman's audience over the summer when he called San Antonio "a WNBA
team." But in the first matchup this season between the Western
Conference powers, the Spurs held O'Neal to just 13 points
Wednesday night in a 91-81 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
|  | | L.A.'s Horace Grant, left, can't quite firnd the length to block a Tim Duncan shot. Duncan scored 22 points and grabbed 17 rebounds. |
"I just missed some shots that I usually make tonight," said
O'Neal, who was 5-for-13 from the field and 3-for-10 from the foul
line. "I don't make excuses on nights that I miss shots like that.
Those are shots that I've made my whole career and we needed them
tonight."
The loss dropped the defending NBA champions to a .500 mark (3-3) for the first time since Nov. 14, 1999. After the same number of games last year, they were 5-1, and they finished the season 67-15.
David Robinson and Malik Rose allowed O'Neal to score just five
points in the first half, when he went 1-for-8 in 23 minutes.
O'Neal had been averaging 32 points per game this season, 29.7
points per game last year.
"Even Superman runs into Kryptonite occasionally," said Robert
Horry, who nailed four 3-pointers for the Lakers.
It was more likely the 7-foot-1 Robinson, 6-7 Rose and 7-foot Tim Duncan who stopped O'Neal.
"They are big and athletic and cause problems for Shaq," said Kobe Bryant, who led Los Angeles with 32 points and eight assists.
O'Neal, who came within one vote of becoming the league's first unanimous MVP last season, came out stronger in the third quarter, grabbing seven of his 17 rebounds and bringing the Lakers within 56-55 on a 12-foot turnaround jump shot with 5:25 remaining.
But Lakers coach Phil Jackson said overall, O'Neal simply seemed out of sync.
"They fouled him every time he took a shot," Jackson said. "He got it going a little in the third, but then I think he got tired. David did a good job on him with a lot of help."
O'Neal, known for his struggles from the foul line, is now 37-for-90 (41 percent) this year. He made 52 percent of his free throws last season.
Duncan led the Spurs with 22 points and 17 rebounds to give San
Antonio its ninth victory in 10 games against the Lakers.
Though Duncan made just 9 of 24 shots from the field, the Spurs took
the lead early in the second half and never gave it up.
Robinson and Derek Anderson each added 16 for San Antonio, and Rose had 13. The Spurs made 20 of 24 free throws, compared with 4-for-11 for the Lakers.
Horace Grant added 14 points and had three blocks for Los
Angeles.
Perhaps the Spurs -- the 1998 NBA champions -- were ignited by the
fact that Los Angeles followed them in claiming the title after the
Spurs were knocked out in the first round of the playoffs. Or
perhaps it was their intense rivalry.
Duncan insisted it was not O'Neal's remark on the Letterman show.
"I don't think it bothers anybody around here," he said. "In one ear and out the other. People are going to say what they want. You can't let it bother you."
Game notes
Bryant got 15 of his points in the first quarter, 24 in the
first half. ... The Spurs improved their record against the Lakers
at home to 33-19. ... The Spurs defeated the Lakers in three of
four games last season ... Duncan's double-double was the 158th of
his career.
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NBA Scoreboard
LA Lakers Clubhouse
San Antonio Clubhouse
RECAPS
Indiana 108
Milwaukee 97
Philadelphia 103
Detroit 94
New Jersey 102
Washington 86
Miami 87
Seattle 81
Cleveland 99
New York 97
Charlotte 96
Orlando 90
Vancouver 101
Dallas 74
San Antonio 91
LA Lakers 81
Denver 109
Minnesota 107
Utah 93
LA Clippers 87
Sacramento 115
Golden State 84
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Derek Anderson takes the rock strong to the hole with this monster slam.
avi: 514 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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