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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) -- Seventeen-and-oh my! Can anybody beat these
guys?
|  | | Shaquille O'Neal had only five first-half points, but finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds. |
The Los Angeles Lakers, motivated by the ejection of coach Phil
Jackson, outscored the San Antonio Spurs 13-5 over the final 6:11
Monday night for an 88-81 victory in Game 2 of the Western
Conference finals.
The Lakers won their 17th straight, ninth in the playoffs, in a
rough game that put them up 2-0 in the best-of-seven series. They
won twice at the Alamodome, where San Antonio had been unbeaten in
the playoffs and had lost just eight in the regular season.
"I think the turning point was when Phil got thrown out of the
game," Lakers center Shaquille O'Neal said of Jackson getting two
technical fouls in a five-minute span of the third quarter. "I
pulled the guys in the huddle and told them, `Let's go, let's just
play loose.' They gave us all they had."
The Lakers, down by as many as 14 points in the first half, can
complete an unexpected sweep by winning the next two at home. Game
3 is Friday night at the Staples Center.
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Best playoff win streaks
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12 -- San Antonio Spurs, 1999
11 -- Los Angeles Lakers, 1989
9 -- Los Angeles Lakers, 2001*
9 -- Chicago Bulls, 1996
9 -- Los Angeles Lakers, 1982
*Streak in progress
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Their playoff winning streak is the longest since 1989 when the
Lakers won 11 in a row before being swept in the Finals by Detroit
after Magic Johnson and Byron Scott were injured.
Can the Spurs come back?
"If we slack off and not do what we've been doing, then yes,"
O'Neal said, "but I don't see us doing that. I see us going home
and taking care of business."
Once again, Kobe Bryant led the way, but he got plenty of help
from role players to overcome Tim Duncan's career playoff-high 40
points for the Spurs.
Bryant followed his 45-point performance in Game 1 with 28
points, including a 3-pointer with 1:10 to play that put Los
Angeles ahead 85-78.
The game was much tougher than the Lakers' 104-90 romp in Game
1.
"It was fun," Bryant said. "We were challenged."
Duncan grabbed 15 rebounds for the Spurs, while Antonio Daniels
added 24 points, a career playoff high. Both were perfect from the
foul line -- Daniels 12-for-12 and Duncan 9-for-9.
But Duncan's twin tower, David Robinson, struggled though a
foul-plagued night trying to guard O'Neal. Robinson, who drew his
third and fourth fouls in a one-second span in the third quarter,
had seven points and nine rebounds in 27 minutes.
"With the two of us in there, it puts pressure on them,"
Robinson said. "With one of us out there, it puts a lot of
pressure on Tim."
San Antonio struggled from long range for the second straight
game. The Spurs made just four of 16 3-point attempts, 1-of-6 in
the fourth quarter, after going 5-for-15 in Game 1. San Antonio had
shot 42 percent on 3-pointers in the first two rounds.
"We are one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the league,"
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "Those are shots that we take and
need to make."
O'Neal had 19 points, 11 below his playoff average, and 14
rebounds. He was just 8-of-21 from the field, but he scored to put
Los Angeles up 82-78 with 1:53 to go and played tough defense all
night.
Los Angeles never led until 50 seconds remained in the third
quarter, and was never up by more than four in the fourth until
Bryant's only 3-pointer gave the Lakers the seven-point lead.
Duncan was upset about the shots he didn't make.
"Down the stretch, they just outplayed us," he said. "Their
big two (Bryant and O'Neal) made shots down the stretch, and I
missed a couple. I missed a couple of open looks down the stretch
and that was the difference in the game."
While Bryant was a mortal 11-for-24 shooting, he and O'Neal had
big help from their supporting cast. Derek Fisher kept up his
torrid playoff shooting with 16 points, including 4-of-4 from
3-point range. His last one buried San Antonio for good, 88-78.
Rick Fox scored 11 points and had four steals, while Robert
Horry made two crucial 3-pointers in the second half.
Fisher was the catalyst of a Lakers' defense that put the clamps
on San Antonio in the second half.
"We know that there are a lot of guys on this team that can
step up and score when we need to," Fisher said.
Duncan's inside basket with 6:18 to play gave the Spurs their
last lead, 76-75. O'Neal made one of two free throws, Fox scored on
a drive, and Bryant made two free throws in a 5-0 run that put Los
Angeles up 80-76 with 4:54 left.
Robinson's 18-footer cut it to 80-78, and San Antonio had a
chance for the lead, but Terry Porter missed a wide-open 3-pointer.
O'Neal scored on a pass from Bryant to make it 82-78, Bryant
followed with his 3, and Los Angeles' second Alamodome conquest was
complete.
After Duncan scored 25 points in the first half, 17 in the
second quarter, the Lakers collapsed on him with double- and
triple-teams and limited him to 15 second-half points, most on free
throws.
Jackson didn't know why referee Bob Delaney called the second
technical.
"The referee asked me to move, and I asked `Why?' and I was
thrown out," Jackson said.
Los Angeles scored the next seven points, tying it on Fisher's
3-pointer from the corner, then took its first lead of the game,
64-63, on a 3-pointer by Horry.
The Spurs outscored Los Angeles 15-2 to start the second
quarter.
O'Neal, meanwhile, made two of nine shots in the first half as
San Antonio's defense clogged the middle much better than it did in
Game 1.
He missed five of his first six shots, drew two early fouls and
got a technical from Delaney after tangling with Malik Rose under
the Lakers' basket with 6:11 left in the half. Daniels made the
free throw, then hit an 8-foot running jumper to cap the outburst
that put San Antonio up 37-23 with 5:44 left in the half.
Game notes
Commissioner David Stern was among those in the crowd. He
said before the game he is concerned by the number of high school
players who have entered the draft because it's obvious many won't
make it in the NBA and have ruined other opportunities to attend
college. ... The Spurs' Derek Anderson, out with a separated
shoulder, is to practice for the second time Tuesday and might play
in Game 3. ... Players other than O'Neal and Bryant scored 20 of
Los Angeles' 38 points in the first half. ... Porter finished
0-for-5 from 3-point range.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
LA Lakers Clubhouse
San Antonio Clubhouse
Jackson ejected after two technicals in Game 2
Spurs in world of trouble despite Duncan's big effort
RECAPS
LA Lakers 88
San Antonio 81
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Kobe Bryant scored when it counted, dunking over Antonio Daniels and hitting a big 3-pointer in the fourth.
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Coach Phil Jackson was confident the Lakers and his staff could handle things without him.
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 Shaquille O'Neal reviews his performance in the Lakers' victory over San Antonio (Courtesy: TNT Sports).
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Kobe Bryant was looking to spread the ball around to his teammates in Game 2 (Courtesy: TNT Sports).
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Robert Horry describes his defensive effort against Tim Duncan and the Spurs.
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Kobe Bryant talks with ESPN's Shelley Smith after the Lakers' Game 2 victory over the Spurs.
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