Shaq Laughs Last in Laker Victory

The floor of Reunion Arena was crowded with people, the Lakers’ 108-103 victory official for maybe a minute, and Shaquille O’Neal looked over their heads, away from his bench, toward the Dallas Mavericks’.

But Don Nelson, the coach who ordered him so obstinately hacked, was gone. O’Neal raised his eyebrows, turned and waded through the crowd to the Lakers’ locker room, his game gaining momentum, the Lakers on a five-game winning streak and having just swept a four-game trip.

O’Neal scored 28 points, made 10 of 20 free throws and did not bow to the Hack-a-Shaq tactics for which Nelson most often receives credit for inventing. In fact, O’Neal set his jaw at the outset and shoved aside whatever white jersey reared up, sometimes literally.

While he was not alone in his fight with the Mavericks--Kobe Bryant followed up Thursday’s 45-point effort by scoring 35 and Rick Fox had 15 points and a season-high 12 rebounds--O’Neal was the focus, because he is alone with his fight with his free throws.

“It seemed to me none of their guys wanted to play anyway,” O’Neal said. “Either they were trying to foul me the whole time or they didn’t want to play. That’s clown basketball. It should be clown basketball coming from a clown guy like Don Nelson.”

He wasn’t talking about the clothing, either. O’Neal said he never became frustrated.

“I’m cool,” he said. “They know who the baddest big man is.”

In the second half, the Lakers shot in front of the Maverick bench. As O’Neal aimed and fired his free throws, Nelson frequently stood 25 feet away, hands on hips, watching without expression.

“We were going to do it as much as we thought necessary,” Nelson said. “We’ll do it early, late, whatever we think is good.”

When his free throws fell through the hoop, as they occasionally did, O’Neal would bark something out of the side of his mouth.

“I didn’t tell him anything,” O’Neal said. “I don’t talk to clowns. This ain’t the circus.”

O’Neal played with the fury of last season, his MVP season, and Mavericks fell often. Mark Bryant fouled out in five minutes. Christian Laettner had three fouls in 14 minutes. Loy Vaught and Gary Trent combined for six fouls in 11 minutes.

“I’m just trying to get my game back on track,” O’Neal said. “I’ve had a couple knickknack injuries. I’ve been a step slow. I’m just trying to get my game back.”

Laker Coach Phil Jackson wasn’t quite as brave as he was Thursday in Houston, where he left O’Neal in to fend for his own free-throw life. O’Neal subbed out on offense in the final minutes, when the Mavericks raced back from a 61-41 halftime deficit. The Mavericks scored 62 second-half points, but never had a possession with a chance to tie or take the lead. Dirk Nowitzki scored 29 points, 14 in the fourth quarter, and the Lakers had problems containing the penetration of guards Steve Nash and Howard Eisley.

They countered with good possessions at the end, scoring when the needed to, once on a 23-footer by Bryant with two Mavericks hanging on him.

Jackson seemed to like the edginess that returned to O’Neal’s game, after pointing out hours before that O’Neal lacked his typical surliness.

“I just think it hasn’t been a passion of his like it was last year,” Jackson had said. “He hasn’t been as passionate about the game. Or as driven, perhaps, by it. There’s a variety of things that could cause that. There’s his injuries. The fact that he went out and played soft, you know, things happened in games. There’s the insinuations about his [relationship] with Kobe, all those things work to set him on edge a little bit. I think he’s fine.

“I don’t know if it’ll turn for him. I just think he’ll settle in. Just settle down. It’s a long season. These guys are living together as a team for another four, five months. We just have to settle in as a team to a style of play.”

When O’Neal got mean, his teammates followed. The Mavericks, having arrived at 18-10 and thinking thoughts of knocking off the more talented, more glamorous Lakers, threw effort at the Lakers. The Lakers pushed back.

O’Neal, in particular, seemed to have had enough, finally, of the fouls. He pushed Mark Bryant away after a foul. He walked right through their shoulders. He stared at Nelson, over and over, and at Maverick owner Mark Cuban, who sat courtside. Sometimes Cuban yelled back.

“He takes it like they’re trying to embarrass him,” said Laker guard Brian Shaw, whose steady hand in the fourth quarter quelled the Maverick rally.

In a crowded and loud arena, in a place where they dislike him because of his talent and his championship, O’Neal grabbed them all by the throats and shook. He seemed to like it. He was the perfect villain again.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

The Hot Hand

Kobe Bryant continued his torrid scoring in December. Game by game this month:

DATE, OPPONENT POINTS

Dec. 1, vs. San Antonio 43

Dec. 3, vs. Dallas 38

Dec. 5, vs. Philadelphia 36

Dec. 6, at Golden State 51

Dec. 8, vs. Seattle 19

Dec. 10, vs. Detroit 26

Dec. 12, vs. Milwaukee 25

Dec. 13, at Portland 35

Dec. 15, vs. Vancouver 17

Dec. 17, at Toronto 40

Dec. 19, at Miami 23

Dec. 21, at Houston 45

Dec. 22, at Dallas 35

Average 33.3

Season Average 29.8

76ERS’ IVERSON SIDELINED 2-4 WEEKS

Allen Iverson suffered a partially dislocated shoulder in 76ers’ 91-71 loss to Knicks. D8