Shaq Comes Back and Dives Right In

Most of the gang showed for the big homecoming bash Friday night--Nick Van Exel and his 22 points and 13 assists, Eddie Jones with 23 points, Rick Fox accompanied by eight points, six rebounds, six assists, four blocks and two steals. What Shaquille O’Neal had been missing, he quickly became part of again.

In a return to action and close enough to a return to form, O’Neal rejoined the party after 20 games and six weeks away because of a strained abdominal muscle. He either rejoined it or threw it, making 10 of 14 shots from the field, missing five of seven from the line and finishing with 22 points and nine rebounds in 24 minutes of the 116-106 victory over the Atlanta Hawks before 17,505 at the Great Western Forum.

Imagine what happens when he isn’t on the mend.

“I just wanted to come out and play well,” he said after exceeding the doctor-imposed time restrictions by four minutes, mostly because the Hawks had cut a 24-point deficit in the third quarter to five with 7:45 left in the fourth. “Someone asked me the other day how good of shape I was in. I said I could get 20 and 10.”

O’Neal asked what he finished with. Twenty-two and nine, came the answer.

“Darn it,” he said in mock exasperation.

OK, so the night could only be rated a great success.

“Obviously it was good to have the big man back,” Coach Del Harris said. “I thought the whole team came with energy tonight, though. And Shaquille added to it.”

O’Neal put himself at about 80%, though conditioning was the main thing lacking. He knows that surgery, meaning months out, is a possibility if the strain becomes a tear.

What happened Friday showed the other options: He could play for the first time in six weeks and immediately impress.

O’Neal checked in to a loud ovation with 6:29 remaining in the first quarter, almost without buildup since it came after a timeout and not with him waiting at the scorer’s table. As if to make the return official, he grabbed an offensive rebound, was fouled going back up by Dikembe Mutombo . . . and missed both free throws.

Just like old times, indeed--O’Neal made his first four field goals, missed on a twisting, reverse layup, but then, on the same possession, showed nice touch with a turn-around jumper over Mutombo from the right post.

When O’Neal extended and lunged for a right-handed dunk, it was a test for the stomach muscles. Another time, he backed in from the left post, got down to the baseline and spun away, leading to another slam.

And late in the game, he threw himself over the Laker bench while going after a loose ball.

At halftime, O’Neal already had 10 points on five-of-six shooting, five rebounds and two blocks in 10 minutes, half the supposedly allotted time. Much more of this and he might have to be considered for a spot in the starting lineup.

O’Neal was a reserve for only the third time in his 354-game career and the first time in nearly 1 1/2 seasons as a Laker. The campaign for sixth man of the year had begun.

“Hopefully,” Harris said, smiling, “he won’t qualify.”

The Lakers don’t need to be that deep.

“If this was like an all-star game and I was coming off the bench, yeah, I’d be [ticked] off,” O’Neal said. “But this is my team.”

The other team arrived in bad enough shape. The Hawks had a five-game losing streak, had to face the Lakers, a team on an emotional high, and finish the back-to-back tonight at Utah. Atlanta was halfway to Salt Lake City by intermission, literally.

The Lakers were already up by 15 as Elden Campbell, keeping the seat very warm for O’Neal, had all 15 of his points.

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The Difference

A look at how the Lakers have performed with Shaquille O’Neal and without him:

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Category With Without Record 9-0 15-7 Scoring 113.7 102.4 Scoring defense 97.3 97.2 Shooting 50.4% 46.8% Shooting defense 43.4% 44.8% Assists 27.3 23.9 Rebounds 43.4 39.7 Blocks 7.89 5.95 Point differential +16.4 +5.2

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The 22 games without O’Neal include 21 because of strained abdominal muscle and one because of suspension.