RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- With their last blowout victory two months ago,
the Los Angeles Lakers had forgotten how much fun it is to beat up
on an opponent.
With Golden State providing the fodder, Shaquille O'Neal had 26
points and 15 rebounds in a 110-95 rout Sunday night for the
Lakers' sixth consecutive home victory.
"It was fun," Kobe Bryant said. "At least for the coaching
staff it calms their nerves a little bit."
The Lakers made 24 of 28 free throws and never trailed in
beating the Warriors for the 13th consecutive time in Los Angeles.
They led by 27 points after the first quarter, by 25 at halftime
and by 24 after three.
"We're on the right track. We're improving," Bryant said. "We
did a good job coming out of the gate, moving the ball, hitting
some open shots and we did a good job defensively, as well."
Especially on Antawn Jamison. He had 51 points in Golden State's
overtime victory against the Lakers in December, but was held
scoreless on 0-for-9 shooting in 28 minutes.
"This should never happen, but it happened," Jamison said. "I
wasn't really looking for my shot."
Bryant, who also had 51 points in the defeat, added 22 points in
his third game back since being sidelined for three games with sore
ankles.
Asked about Jamison's no-show scoring, Bryant said, "I can't
relate to that."
The teams play again Tuesday at Golden State, and coach Dave
Cowens said Jamison won't be scoreless again.
"He was tired. It all caught up with him, and he didn't have
anything going on," Cowens said. "He just had a bad game."
Marc Jackson led the Warriors with 22 points despite a strained
right groin, while reserve Bob Sura added 19 points.
"The Lakers were awesome in the first quarter," Jackson said.
"They put on such a display, we couldn't get anything going."
The game's only excitement occurred when Jackson and Greg Foster
tangled under the basket with 7:56 remaining. Foster got hit with two
technicals and was ejected, while Jackson got a technical. He
later picked up a flagrant foul on Mark Madsen in the final minute.
After the initial skirmish, Jackson stuck his finger near
Foster's right eye and they exchanged words. Foster had to be
restrained by teammate Madsen as he continued shouting and walking
toward Jackson. Lakers coach Phil Jackson came on the court and
spoke to the referees as Madsen kept pushing Foster toward the
bench.
"It was a situation where you get two guys playing hard and
emotions run high sometimes," Madsen said. "Both Jackson and
Foster are great guys and I think it's behind us."
O'Neal was called for a flagrant foul in the third quarter after
sticking his left hand out to stop Sura's drive. Sura ended up on
the floor with a puffy right eye, but he got up and made both free
throws.
Both O'Neal, whose sore arch continues to nag him, and Bryant
got plenty of rest as neither played the fourth quarter.
Golden State outscored the Lakers 26-17 in the fourth, but it
didn't matter. The Warriors were on their way to a third consecutive defeat in the opening period when the Lakers ran off 14 consecutive points and never looked back. O'Neal had seven of those points.
"We came out and I can't believe how many wide-open shots we
missed," Cowens said. "It didn't make very much sense."
The Lakers play a busy 17-game schedule in March, and they've
started off 2-0 with victories over the Western Conference's two
worst teams. They defeated Vancouver 98-88 on the road Saturday.
"We haven't had a whole lot of big wins this year," Rick Fox
said. "We would like to think that we could put a team away like
this more often. There is always a lot of talk in this locker room
about how we can't beat anybody, so this is nice."
The Warriors used a 19-10 run to end the first half down 61-46.
That was slightly better than the 27 points they trailed by after
the first quarter when the Lakers tied a season high for a first
period with 43 points.
Game notes A precautionary X-ray on Bryant's sprained and bruised
right ankle was negative. Bryant's left ankle also is hurting. ...
The fourth toe on O'Neal's left foot is infected. ... Golden State
is 10-31 since beating the Lakers in overtime Dec. 6. ... Los
Angeles is 7-7 on the second night of back-to-back games. ... The
Lakers also scored 43 points in the first quarter of a victory over
the Clippers on Nov. 5. ... O'Neal's college coach, Dale Brown, sat
courtside watching the former Louisiana State star.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Golden State Clubhouse
LA Lakers Clubhouse
RECAPS
Toronto 98 New York 88
Charlotte 116 Boston 97
Detroit 93 Orlando 84
New Jersey 120 Indiana 96
Utah 118 Washington 98
Minnesota 119 Seattle 111
Miami 91 Cleveland 79
LA Lakers 110 Golden State 95
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