Lakers Get Aired Out

When the end arrived Monday night, there was no consolation in that they lost to a better team, which even the Lakers admitted, or that they limped across the finish line, just as they had limped through much of the regular season with equal fight.

The 98-93 overtime loss to the Utah Jazz at the Delta Center in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals came with Shaquille O’Neal on the bench after fouling out with 1:46 left in regulation, Robert Horry in the locker room after being kicked out with 8:51 remaining in the third quarter and Byron Scott on the bench the entire night because of his wrist injury, not to mention Nick Van Exel and Coach Del Harris in conflict. The 4-1 series loss came with major disappointment.

Even through all the problems, mostly the injuries and most recently Van Exel feelinghe can not co-exist with Harris, the Lakers had believed themselves as contenders for the conference title, with good reason. Ending so soon, then, and in such a way that the contrast of the Jazz as the more mature team was impossible not to notice, brought the final pain.

“Very, very difficult,” Shaquille O’Neal said.

O’Neal had 23 points and 13 rebounds, but also the six fouls. Left to go it the final 6:34 without O’Neal, the Lakers managed well enough to force overtime, but then made one of 10 shots in overtime. Three of the misses were three-point airballs by Kobe Bryant, three others by Elden Campbell as he went one of 13.

Karl Malone, meanwhile, scored six of his game-high 32 points in overtime, when one of his 20 rebounds also came. John Stockton added 24 points and 10 assists and Bryon Russell, a Game 4 hero in the Jazz victory at the Forum, had 22 points, including a tough 14-foot double pump jumper with 1:14 left in regulation, a key basket.

The teams traded baskets from there, and the Lakers called timeout with 39.1 seconds showing. When play resumed, Jones got free down the lane, but his driving layup was blocked by Greg Ostertag, the ninth for Utah’s enigmatic center, and controlled by Malone.

At the other end, the Lakers responded in kind, with a huge defensive play. Malone’s fallaway from the left side against triple-team coverage missed and Ostertag grabbed the offensive rebound. Ostertag started to go back up with the potential game winner, but Van Exel stripped the ball, maintaining the 87-87 tie.

Timeout, Lakers. With 11.3 seconds remaining, they had the comfort of the final shot, barring disaster. That didn’t come, but neither did a close shot to end it in regulation: the Lakers spread the court and Bryant brought the ball up, controlling the entire way until he pulled up for a last-second 14-footer that fell far short.

Scott, his sprained right wrist making gripping and shooting the ball near impossible, dressed, but stayed on the bench with the electrical-stimulation machine hooked up to that part of the time, treatment that continued even into the second half in hopes that he could eventually play. Finally, he disconnected and handed the machine to trainer Gary Vitti.

“Not being able to go out and do the things I know I can, it’s very frustrating,” Scott said.

It wasn’t just about the possibility that this could have been the last game of his career, either, depending on what happens this summer as a free agent. It was that the Lakers had to go without their most accurate shooter of the series, in fact the most accurate for either team among players with at least 20 attempts.

Scott’s numbers were up--to 52.4% and 9.5 points a game off the bench--but sitting on the bench, he was obviously down.

“He’s a willing soldier,” Harris said. “But you can see his hands.”

Already minus the one key player, the Lakers lost another in the third quarter, when Horry was ejected for shoving Utah’s Jeff Hornacek during a brief skirmish. The incident actually started with O’Neal delivering a flagrant foul on Malone under the basket, at which point the two exchanged words, Malone getting hit with a technical foul. Horry and Hornacek were a few feet away, closer to the free-throw line, when Horry, his forearm up to keep the Jazz guard away, pushed, sending Hornacek backward.

“Basically, it was just a BS call,” Horry said. “A game like this, no punches were thrown and you get tossed, it’s not fair.”

Horry was given a single-technical ejection and order was quickly restored. Malone, coming off his 18-of-18 showing from the line in Game 4 at the Forum, made both free throws from the O’Neal foul to give the Jazz a 62-51 advantage.

The Lakers had cut that to five points by the end of the third quarter, then kept the rally going early in the fourth, eventually taking a 69-68 lead with 9:24 left. That set the stage for the tie at the end of regulation and, they hoped, one more push in overtime. It turned out there were none left.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

1997 NBA PLAYOFFS

LAKERS vs. JAZZ

Jazz wins series, 4-1

* Game 1--Utah 93, Lakers 77

* Game 2--Utah 103, Lakers 101

* Game 3--Lakers 104, Utah 84

* Game 4--Utah 110, Lakers 95

* Game 5--Utah 98, Lakers 93 (OT)

* HARRIS FANS: Rick Majerus and Frank Layden have taken Laker Coach Del Harris’ side in his dispute with point guard Nick Van Exel. C8

* New York 89, Miami 76

John Starks scored 21 points as the Knicks took a 3-1 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Heat. C7