O’Neal Hits a Bull’s-Eye on Big Night

Who made the biggest, loudest statement during Friday night’s Laker 103-95 bombardment of the Chicago Bulls:

Shaquille O’Neal, by scoring 41 points, making 19 free throws and grabbing 17 rebounds?

Or Laker Coach Phil Jackson for keeping the big center in the game against Jackson’s former team for every second of the first 43 minutes, through garbage time and much, much beyond?

Whatever the reasoning, the maneuver was ruthlessly effective.

Maybe Jackson simply wanted to see how long and how hard he could run O’Neal, and the answer was: a lot.

“I told him I wanted him to play 48,” Jackson said. “At the pace the game was going, if we needed him to play 48, pace himself for 48. Because there was no up-and-down action. . . .

“I told him, ‘Wilt Chamberlain played every minute but two minutes of one whole season, I mean, what the heck?’ A game played at that pace, a guy his size doesn’t have to do too much. Just go 90 feet, that’s it.”

O’Neal did not seem to tire through the marathon--not that rumbling over and around Chris Anstey, Michael Ruffin, Kornel David, Will Perdue and Lari Ketner would ever cause O’Neal very much strain.

Anstey, Ruffin and Ketner all fouled out, and O’Neal, looking very comfortable at the free-throw line for the first time this season, set career-highs in free throws made and attempted (31).

Overall, the teams combined to shoot more than 100 free throws in a game that was played at a pace barely better than a snail’s.

“I just tried to focus a little more,” O’Neal said. “I still missed too many. But I hit them when I needed to hit them.

“I’m starting to get my game back. Right now, I’m about 75%. Everything else is good, but from the line was the missing part of my game. I’m going to pick it up. Can’t get any worse. Impossible for it to get any worse--it’s unheard of.”

Said Jackson: “Rhythm--I think he had a little bit of rhythm. I thought he had some kind of poise out there.”

And when O’Neal made six consecutive free throws late in the fourth quarter, the Staples Center crowd of 18,401 bathed him in applause and appreciation.

O’Neal didn’t check out of the game until 4:39 was left in the fourth quarter, and the Lakers had held a lead of 20 points or more for more than a quarter.

O’Neal made his first 10 field-goal attempts (finishing 11 of 13), and blocked seven shots, many of them directly out of the fingertips of No. 1 overall pick Elton Brand, the Bulls’ prize player.

Glen Rice, meanwhile, added 17 points on five-of-eight shooting.

Brand led the Bulls with 29 points and 17 rebounds, but he was only eight for 23 from the field.

With the victory, which came on the heels of Thursday night’s dull defeat in Denver, the Lakers raised their record to 8-3.

The woeful Bulls lost for the eighth time in nine games, and for the 17th time in their last 18 road games.

Chicago made only 36% of its field-goal attempts (31 for 86), while the Lakers went to the line an incredible 64 times, making 43.

After a meandering first half, the Lakers broke the game open with a 13-0 run to open the third quarter, and soon were cruising with a 23-point lead, 67-44.

During that run, O’Neal made his seventh, eighth and ninth field-goal attempts in a row, all from within five feet without much interference from Bull defenders.

When the Bulls contested his shots, they usually just yanked him on the arm and sent him to the free-throw line.

Jackson showed his seriousness by playing O’Neal the entire first half, sending him for the full 24 minutes against Perdue, Anstey, Ketner, Brand and whoever the Bulls could bring in.

In that time, O’Neal scored 18 points, made all six of his field-goal attempts, blocked two shots, had 10 rebounds, and made six of his 14 free throws.

O’Neal said he wasn’t surprised by playing so many minutes.

“Whatever Phil needs me to do, I just have to do it,” O’Neal said.