Lakers in a Perfect World

There was the return of Shaquille O’Neal on Friday night, worth 17 points and eight rebounds in 27 minutes.

And then there was the departure.

Playing for the first time after sitting out the opener because of the strained abdominal muscle and the second game because of a suspension, he fouled out with 27 seconds left, only to have the Lakers hold on for a 99-94 victory over the New York Knicks on Friday night before 17,505 at the Forum.

O’Neal played six minutes the first quarter, six in the second and seven in the third before being brought in with 8:33 remaining for the final push, or so the Lakers thought.

But they soon found a more pressing problem than rationing time. Namely, going a span of 6:21--12 possessions--without a field goal to turn an 83-78 lead into a 90-88 deficit. O’Neal ended the skid by scoring inside for a tie with 3:07 remaining.

They even struggled from the foul line, making both attempts only once in four trips to the line during that stretch.

While that trend continued--Robert Horry made one of two, then O’Neal, then O’Neal again--the Lakers compensated with defense, surrendering no baskets in the final 3 1/2 minutes.

Horry, en route to a big night for the second time in the three games with 17 points and 10 rebounds, made the biggest play when, finding himself defending Patrick Ewing in single coverage, he poked the ball away for one turnover. And on next Knick possession, Nick Van Exel intercepted Charles Oakley’s bad pass.

That enabled the Lakers to cling to a 95-92 advantage. The Knicks made it a one-point game with 27.4 seconds left when O’Neal got his sixth foul and Ewing turned that into two free throws, the last of his game-high 29 points that went with the game-high 14 rebounds.

But when Eddie Jones made two from the line with 19.6 showing, the Lakers had another three-point cushion, 97-94. That became the final margin on Jones’ layup with 4.6 seconds left.

This was only the first step for O’Neal in many ways. Not only the first game back, but the first in a series of meetings with elite centers over a week, three marquee matchups in five games, with a fourth, Shawn Bradley, at least someone to deal with because of his size.

Ewing was first up, followed by Erick Dampier with the Golden State Warriors, so O’Neal can rest. Next comes the Texas three-step, a trip that will put him against Bradley and the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday, David Robinson and the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday and Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets on Friday, a nice way to end a stretch of four games in six days. That stretch that would be challenging enough for a player with a running start, let alone the O’Neal that returned with a time restriction that was supposed to keep him around 25 minutes against the Knicks.

“I’ve been in the league six years,” he said. “To me, it seems like I’m the only center in the league who has to do that [face them in quick succession]. Play David, play Patrick, play Hakeem, play Alonzo [Mourning].”

The Patrick part, at least, provided an encouraging, albeit limited, offering. O’Neal, saying he is 100% after the problem just above the groin twice forced him out in the preseason, started and flashed a series of offensive moves that showed good flexibility, if not yet a consistent soft touch.

His first shot was an up-and-under to slip past Ewing for a layin. O’Neal later had a spin move to get close to the hoop. Just as prominent was when he grabbed Kobe Bryant’s miss and went back up for a hard dunk, crunching at the midsection at impact.

The first game, after only one full practice and another of about 90 minutes of drills and three-on-three, resulted in 13 minutes the opening half, 10 points on five-of-nine shooting, three rebounds and two blocks. Ewing, meanwhile, had 12 points, nine rebounds and one block in 16 minutes, helping the Knicks to a 55-51 lead.

But none of what came before intermission had the thunderclap of what came shortly after.

Van Exel lofted a lob on the run from just over midcourt. O’Neal, having beaten the defense, reached with his right arm for the pass thrown slightly behind him, controlled the ball and threw it down with the one hand.

The follow-up was to thump his chest with both hands a few times, as if the moment needed additional punctuation.