RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
 GAME FLOW
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The matchup of Los Angeles' two NBA teams isn't exactly one of sports' noted rivalries, but Kobe Bryant still
finds motivation -- the fear of being embarrassed.
|  | | Shaquille O'Neal drives around the Clippers' Michael Olowokandi in the first quarter. |
"No matter how many championships we win, you don't want the
Clippers beating you, man," Bryant said after he scored 29 points
and had seven rebounds to lead the Lakers to a 98-83 win for their
15th straight over the Clippers.
"We wanted to come out and make a statement. They're a young
team and if you give them confidence, they can hang in there with
you until the end. We don't want them to do that."
Bryant also had four assists as he took up some slack on a night
when Shaquille O'Neal got off to a slow start and finished with 16
points, 10 below his average. O'Neal also had just six rebounds,
seven below his average.
"I only had three points in the first half and missed a lot of
shots that I usually make," O'Neal said. "I really don't want to
have a bad game. I come in at halftime, think about what I have to
do in the second half and just try to pick it up."
The Clippers, who lost their fifth straight, were led by Jeff
McInnis with 20 points and Lamar Odom with 16.
"Hey, they're world champions and we're still trying to find
ourselves," Clippers coach Alvin Gentry said. "We still played
with great effort and we're not going to play a team like that
every night.
"Not every team's got Shaq in the middle."
The Lakers, who led since late in the first half, were up 72-60
heading into the final period of a game played on the homecourt for
both teams, with a standing-room-only crowd of 20,039.
The Lakers stretched their lead to 90-72 on Mike Penberthy's
3-pointer with 4:18 remaining.
Bryant was a one-man show for the Lakers as they moved in front
in the first half, scoring 20 points to help them to a 44-38 lead.
He scored all the points during an 8-0 run just before halftime,
including a four-point play.
Bryant made a 3-pointer, was fouled on the play by Odom and made
the free throw to give the Lakers a 44-36 lead after they had
trailed 32-27 with 6:29 left in the second quarter.
"He was great, came up big when needed," Gentry said of
Bryant.
O'Neal made one of six from the floor and had only two rebounds
by halftime. He finished 7-for-15 from the field.
The Clippers' Michael Olowokandi hit three short jumpers over
O'Neal, and McInnis made three consecutive jumpers to help the
Clippers take a 23-21 lead at the end of the first quarter.
McInnis had 10 points in the period, but Olowokandi, after
getting off to a good start, went to the bench after fouling O'Neal
for the second time, with 3:52 left in the first quarter.
Olowokandi finished with 10 points.
Game notes
Ron Harper was back in the Lakers' starting lineup after
missing last Friday's game, a win over Minnesota, to attend his
grandfather's funeral. ... The Clippers played the Lakers close in
their first meeting of the season, Nov. 5, but the Lakers took
control late to win 108-103. ... The Clippers' last win over the
Lakers was a 108-86 decision on Feb. 4, 1997. ... The Indiana
Pacers play the Lakers on Tuesday night at Staples Center in a
rematch of last season's NBA Finals.
|
|
NBA Scoreboard
LA Lakers Clubhouse
LA Clippers Clubhouse
RECAPS
New York 97
Vancouver 72
Milwaukee 104
Orlando 95
LA Lakers 98
LA Clippers 83
|
