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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
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SHOT CHART
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GAME FLOW
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- Shaquille O'Neal has been convinced. Kobe
Bryant is the best.
|  | | Shaquille O'Neal dunks over David Robinson on his way to 28 points against the Spurs. |
"I told Kobe that he was my idol," O'Neal said. "I'm serious.
He's playing phenomenal. I think he's the best player in the
league, by far."
With his take-your-breath-away moves and long-range daggers,
Bryant stole San Antonio's homecourt advantage in a hurry in the
Western Conference finals.
He scored 45 points on 19-for-35 shooting and grabbed 10
rebounds as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Spurs 104-90 Saturday
in Game 1.
Shaquille O'Neal added 28 points and 11 rebounds as the Lakers
won their 16th in a row -- eighth in the playoffs. He even made six
of eight free throws.
Game 2 is Monday night in the first showdown between the past
two NBA champions in a conference final since 1985.
"This team is hungry," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said.
Bryant fell just three points short of his career playoff high
of 48 set in his last game, the series clincher against Sacramento.
It was the most points ever against San Antonio in a playoff game,
surpassing the 43 Hakeem Olajuwon scored for Houston in the 1995
conference finals.
Bryant tried to deflect the praise to Shaq.
"I don't know man," Bryant said. "I'm just a little guard. I
try to steal some of his post moves, but they don't seem to have
the same powerful effect as when he does it."
Bryant didn't think he was in any particular zone, but was only
trying to take what the Spurs were giving him.
"You really have to pick your spots with those two big guys
down there," he said. "It's a lot of work, and a lot of
preparation."
With 93 points in consecutive games, Bryant was drawing a
comparison with the greatest big-game player ever -- Michael Jordan.
Horace Grant kept referring to Bryant as "No. 23," the number
Jordan wore. It wasn't a mistake.
"I knew what I was saying," Grant said.
O'Neal said it wasn't the points but the way Bryant scored them
that was so impressive.
"That's where I've been trying to get him all year," O'Neal
said. "He's been getting his points, getting everybody involved,
drawing and kicking, doing the right things. Somebody once said the
mark of a great player is how you make the other players around you
play. I now can truly say that Kobe Bryant is the best player in
this league."
O'Neal and Bryant might have feuded in the regular season, but
they blended like Beach Boys harmony in this one. When one would
misfire, the other took over.
Bryant, who averaged 37.7 points against the Spurs in the
regular season, was even tougher this time, maybe because San
Antonio is without Derek Anderson.
When Bryant wasn't scoring, he was finding O'Neal inside.
Tim Duncan had 28 points and 14 rebounds, and David Robinson 14
points and 11 rebounds for the Spurs, who lost at home for the
first time in the playoffs. Antonio Daniels scored 16 of his 20
points in the second half for San Antonio, which at 58-24 had the
best regular-season record in the NBA, two games ahead of Los
Angeles.
But frustrated by the Lakers' defense, the Spurs misfired from
long range, especially early in the game, and committed an
uncharacteristic 11 first-half turnovers.
"We had open looks at the basket. We were missing shots that we
normally make," Robinson said. "We were turning the ball over.
You throw the ball right to the other guy, what are you doing?
That's not the way we play basketball."
Meanwhile, Los Angeles' role players came through. Derek Fisher
made three of four 3-pointers and scored 13 points.
Los Angeles led throughout after a 13-1 run in the first
quarter. They were up by 16 three times in the third quarter.
"I thought we were sloppy," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich
said, "more than I've seen us in three months. You have to give
the Lakers credit for their aggressiveness. Be that as it may, I
was really disappointed in our mental errors, some we haven't made
in a very, very long time."
Duncan and Daniels tried to bring San Antonio back in the
fourth. The Spurs cut the lead to nine twice.
Duncan's three-point play cut it to 86-77 with 5:37 to play and
San Antonio had a chance to get closer. But the Spurs missed,
Duncan lost the ball out of bounds and Horry sank a 3-pointer to
make it 89-77 with 5:15 to play.
Bryant's only 3-pointer -- in two attempts -- put Los Angeles up
96-81 with 3:20 to play. San Antonio scored six straight to cut it
to 96-87 with two minutes remaining. But O'Neal made two free
throws and Horry one of two to put it out of reach.
"We handled everything they threw at us," Rick Fox said. "We
had stretches where we needed a shot, and we got it."
Anderson, who would have defended Bryant, is out with a
separated shoulder, the result of a flagrant foul by Juwan Howard
in the first game of San Antonio's second-round series against
Dallas. Anderson might be back by Game 3.
For now, Daniels or Sean Elliott must defend Bryant. It was a
mismatch either way.
O'Neal, a high school star in San Antonio, was greeted by a
resounding chorus of boos from the Alamodome crowd of 36,068. The
reaction was triggered by O'Neal's derisive comments in his
autobiography about Robinson.
The crowd also had it in for Los Angeles coach Phil Jackson, who
has suggested that the Spurs' 1999 title carry an asterisk because
it was a 50-game season.
Game notes
The San Antonio Express-News commissioned a computerized
simulation of the series. The Lakers won in six games. ... The
Spurs have won six consecutive series with Duncan in the lineup.
... Fisher drew his second foul with 6:19 left in the first
quarter, but Jackson left him in. He never did draw his third. ...
The Spurs, who shot 42 percent from 3-point range in the playoffs,
were 5-for-15 (33 percent) in this one. Daniels and Terry Porter
both were 1-for-5. The Lakers made 7-of-14 3-pointers. ... Duncan
and Robinson scored all but two of the Spurs' 17 points in the
first quarter.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
LA Lakers Clubhouse
San Antonio Clubhouse
Spurs not eager to give L.A. credit for Game 1 effort
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Watch as players sound off after the Lakers' Game 1 win over the Spurs.
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN
Cable Modem
 Shaquille O'Neal is not kidding around when he says Kobe Bryant is the best in the league.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
David Robinson's a bit disappointed, but says the Spurs will respond well from their Game-1 loss.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Kobe Bryant wouldn't have gotten those nice looks at the basket without the help of his teammates.
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