Shaq's Magic Quicker Than Eye Can See

Shaq’s Magic Quicker Than Eye Can See

By TIM KAWAKAMI

Feb. 19, 2000 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

ORLANDO, Fla. —

Could you believe your eyes?

Somehow, a 7-foot-1, 330-pound man appeared where no one expected or had ever seen him before, did something no one could imagine, and turned a Laker loss into stunning victory on Friday.

You might say Shaquille O’Neal dabbled with Magic--presto! change-o!--conjuring a 107-99 overtime defeat of his former team before a sellout crowd at the TD Waterhouse Centre.

It took your breath away, and apparently the Orlando Magic’s will.

“It was a sweet moment,” O’Neal said.

The Orlando Magic was only 17.4 seconds from a soaring, come-from-behind victory.

The Lakers were on their way to coughing up a game that had been in their control almost from the start.

Then, O’Neal made a move that seemed to stun everyone in attendance--maybe even himself.

O’Neal leaped out from the lane to near the midcourt line to tip away an inbounds pass by Ron Mercer meant for Michael Doleac, rushed 20 feet upcourt to gather in the ball at the free-throw line and then artfully slammed home a tying dunk, all in less than three seconds.

Who knew he could move so fast?

Doleac missed a jumper at the end of regulation, and suddenly the Lakers were in overtime, and the momentum was completely, irreversibly on their side.

In overtime, O’Neal either assisted or scored on five of the Lakers’ first six possessions, the Magic started fumbling, and the game was tucked away.

“It’s a steal,” Laker Coach Phil Jackson said of his team’s sixth consecutive victory, and third in a row to open this six-game trip. “I mean, basically, you have to say we stole the ballgame.”

Or, as Kobe Bryant put it: “Shaq stole the game.”

O’Neal, who scored 39 points and had 16 rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots (and made nine of 13 free throws), said he anticipated the pass because he had been laying off Doleac (16 points) all game.

“Yeah, I knew the other guys were going to pressure them, and they were probably thinking I wasn’t going to pressure,” O’Neal said. “So I kind of waited a couple seconds . . . until I knew he was going to throw it, and I went for it.

“I knocked it loose and I tapped it ahead of me and I just ran it down. . . . My new name is ‘the Big Felon’ because of my stealing ability.”

Bryant said he could only watch in wonderment as the play developed in front of him.

“I didn’t expect it,” said Bryant, who appeared out of sorts offensively and scored a season-low 11 points. “What the hell is he doing? He got it, and he just ran down and dunked the basketball.

“That’s the first time I’ve ever seen a 7-footer hop into the passing lane . . .

“It was in slow motion. . . . Well, he got the steal pretty quickly, which really caught me off guard, then when he was chasing the ball, like the first two steps were like he was in super-slow mo . . . I looked up at the clock, ’14 seconds [left], is he going to make it?’ ”

The victory improved the Lakers’ record to 40-11, keeping them half a game behind the Portland Trail Blazers for both the best record in the NBA and first place in the Pacific Division.

The Lakers had an 86-81 lead in the late going, but a Mercer tip-in and a Pat Garrity three-pointer tied it with 33.2 seconds left, and successive turnovers by Bryant and Glen Rice--two of three committed by the Lakers in the last 2:09--set up the Magic’s go-ahead basket with 26.3 seconds left.

And the stage was set for O’Neal’s defining act.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Shaq: A Fine Line

Shaquille O’Neal’s improved free-throw shooting in February:

Feb. 1: 5-8, 62.5%

lost to San Antonio, 105-81

Feb. 4: 9-14, 64.3%

beat Utah, 113-67

Feb. 7: 7-15, 46.7%

beat Denver, 106-98

Feb. 9: 15-20, 75.0%

beat Minnesota, 114-81