Lakers Say Humbug After Beating Suns

Ho ho ho hum.

The Phoenix Suns threw their considerable bench at the Lakers on Wednesday afternoon--”A couple of times, I had Robert Horry on me,” Shaquille O’Neal said, “I don’t know what that was about”--and still couldn’t make more than a dent, just as before.

Not bad considering the visitors didn’t much want to be here.

This time, the Laker victory was 108-87 before 19,023 at America West Arena and a national-television audience, witnesses to O’Neal getting 26 points and 16 rebounds, Elden Campbell 13 points and 12 rebounds and Eddie Jones 24 points and five steals.

The three meetings this season have resulted in the Lakers winning by a combined 49 points. The Christmas matinee-for-TV was also their sixth in a row over the Suns since the last-minute comeback victory by Phoenix exactly 13 months earlier.

The latest encounter was supposed to be the first real challenge of the three because the Suns were finally injury-free. That theory lasted into the fourth quarter, then was replaced by a fact: Put Horry on O’Neal and you’re asking for trouble.

Phoenix, having sent Hot Rod Williams, Joe Kleine and Mark Bryant at him earlier, tried the 220-pound forward and found similar results. O’Neal did not dominate, finishing a tame 11 of 24 from the field, but he scored six points, some of which came on Horry’s watch, during the 12-0 run that turned an 87-79 lead with 6:30 remaining into a 99-79 runaway with 3:24 left.

During the same stretch, three Sun possessions ended in a pair of defensive rebounds by Campbell and then a blocked shot on a three-point attempt by Horry.

“We really dominated the rebounding today, and that was a key,” Laker Coach Del Harris said after his team’s 53-39 victory in that department.

Added Campbell: “With an advantage like that [size], we have to just go to it. It got away from us in the third quarter, but we got it back.”

Several Laker players took less than kindly to having to play on Christmas, and out of town at that, especially since they had Thanksgiving dinner in a Boston hotel about noon before flying to Detroit. But it could have been worse this time. They could have been far away from home.

The compromise to the distance--only an hour flight--and the day was to leave Wednesday morning instead of Tuesday night, usually the norm for an afternoon game and even most night games. So they left Los Angeles at about 8 a.m., checked into a hotel for a few hours, played, and were due back in L.A. around 8 p.m.

“A lot of people think it’s such a negative to have to be here and play, but it’s basically an honor to be able to do it,” Harris said. “We are representing the league.”

A lot of people such as . . .

Byron Scott: “I won’t lie to you. It [stinks]. We should all be home spending time with family and friends and loved ones on Christmas Day.

“If it’s a home game it’s a lot better, no doubt about it. But the fact that we’re playing on the road and were already out of town on Thanksgiving makes it worse, especially those of us who have families and want to see the kids’ faces light up when they open their gifts.”

Or O’Neal: “It kind of [stinks], but I understand. If I was David Stern, I would do the same thing. These games show they’re smart. Those marketing people are very smart. They remind me of myself.”

Making the day even more trying is that they didn’t get to play any Phoenix team that looked familiar, the one that started 0-13 with a pair of 14-point losses to the Lakers along the way. These Suns are finally sound--Kevin Johnson, Sam Cassell and Williams were all back after sitting out the previous meeting--and suddenly blessed with envious depth, prompting Harris to say no team can equal their bench.

So at least he wasn’t surprised when Danny Manning and Cassell both had 13 points in reserve roles the first half, allowing the Suns to stay within range. They trailed only 51-45 at intermission despite shooting 36.4%. Much of their success came when the Lakers played short-handed, with Jones forced to the locker room for the final 7 1/2 minutes of the second quarter because of a bruised left thigh, though he returned to start the third period.

The recovery was only beginning. Seventeen of Jones’ points came in the second half, including a three-point shot that capped the 12-0 rally.

* POUNDING THE PISTONS

Chicago won its 18th in a row over Detroit, 95-83. C4

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

A Season of Expectations

The Lakers acquired nine new players this season, including Shaquille O’Neal and his $120-million contract. In turn, with big acquisitions come big expectations. Throughout the season, The Times will monitor O’Neal’s numbers along with how the team compares to some of the best Laker teams in history.

GAME 29 OF 82

* Record 20-9

* Standing Tied for 1st place

Pacific Division

1996-97 LAKERS VS. THE BEST LAKER TEAMS

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Year Gm. 29 Overall 1987-88 23-6 62-20 1986-87 23-6 65-17 1984-85 19-10 62-20 1979-80 19-10 60-22 1971-72 26-3 69-13

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Note: The five teams above all won NBA championships

THE SHAQ SCOREBOARD

Basketball Numbers

* Wednesday’s Game:

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Min FG FT Reb Blk Pts 40 11-24 4-9 16 1 26

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* 1996-97 Season Averages:

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Min FG% FT% Reb Blk Pts 39.8 .563 .498 13.2 2.9 26.1

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* 1995-96 Season Averages:

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Min FG% FT% Reb Blk Pts 36.0 .573 .487 11.0 2.1 26.6

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Money Numbers

* Wednesday’s Salary: $130,658.53

* Season Totals $3,789,097.37

* FACTOID: Game 29 of the 1984-85 season was a 119-105 victory over the Phoenix Suns. In the three games before this victory, the Laker fastbreak had been sluggish, prompting concerns from the fans, but Coach Pat Riley had an explanation: “The one thing many people fail to realize is that right now we’re developing four young players for our future. [Byron] Scott, [Mike] McGee, [Larry] Spriggs and [James] Worthy are getting a lot of minutes and becoming more mature.”