Home Streak Home for Lakers

There was no room service and they got no frequent flyer miles, but home looked good to the Lakers Friday.

For the most part, they looked good, too.

Shaking off jet lag from their six-game trip and the added ennui of building a 22-point lead midway through the second quarter, the Lakers on Friday held off a third-quarter challenge by the Boston Celtics and eased to a 109-96 victory over their former rivals before a sellout crowd of 18,997 at Staples Center.

“Well, we ground out a ballgame that’s unusual for the NBA in that we had 41 baskets and 35 assists for one thing,” Laker Coach Phil Jackson said. “There were a lot of opportunities for us offensively but we didn’t take advantage of all of them. . . . The defense was OK for us until the second quarter. Then it kind of flattened out.

“It’s always tough to come back and play your first game at home after a trip, especially to the East Coast.”

Shaquille O’Neal led all scorers with 28 points and Glen Rice, freed of anxiety over trade rumors with the passing of Thursday’s trade deadline, added 20 points in 26 minutes. The Lakers tied the Portland Trail Blazers for the NBA’s best record (44-11) and extended their winning streak to 10, the second time this season they’ve assembled a double-digit winning streak. The first was the 16-game streak they ran off in December and January.

“I think we’re playing better now than we did early in the season,” said Kobe Bryant, who had three points in the first half but scored eight in the third quarter and finished with 17.

“Our execution is a little bit better, and so is our understanding of what Phil wants from us.”

The Lakers also maintained their perfect (8-0) record against Atlantic Division teams and improved to 20-2 against Eastern Conference teams. The Celtics, reduced to being merely another struggling team in the East, were led by Antoine Walker’s 25 points.

“They were kind to us,” Celtic Coach Rick Pitino said. “It could have been a lot worse.”

The Lakers never trailed, capitalizing on the Celtics’ poor shooting and their own hot start. Rice was four of five from the floor and made all four of his free throws for 12 first-quarter points, only five fewer than the entire Celtic team.

Rice stopped talking to reporters when trade rumors peaked, and he again refused to talk Friday. His teammates said they believed he was relieved to still be a Laker. “Now you guys can finally leave him alone,” Bryant said, grinning.

By the end of the first quarter, the Lakers were on the verge of pulling beyond the Celtics’ limited reach; by the time they pulled out to a 46-24 lead with 5:49 left in the half, they were toying with their opponents.

But if this matchup lacked the tradition and glamour of Laker-Celtic games of decades past, the Celtics did muster enough pride to fight back against the Lakers’ reserves. They whittled the Lakers’ lead to 53-41 at the half and sparked enough concern for Jackson to send Bryant and Rice into the game again late in the second quarter.

“We’ve got to stay with the system. That can be difficult once it becomes an open-court affair,” Bryant said. “Guys started looking for breakaways and short-cutting defensively.”

The Celtics fought back, moving within 10 points in the opening minutes of the third quarter only to be repelled each time they inched too close. A jam by Rice off a fast break and a reverse dunk by Bryant helped reestablish a 14-point Laker lead, which they extended to 19 with 6:56 left in the third quarter on a twisting layup and pair of free throws by Bryant.

“I think that right now we’re a stronger team than we were a couple of months ago, and that’s important,” Jackson said.

O’Neal, however, wasn’t feeling so strong.

“I think jet lag caught up with me tonight. I wasn’t that quick but my teammates stuck up for me and they played well,” he said. “We were able to get a 10- to 15-point lead and keep it. We took care of the ball and did what we were supposed to do.

“I was very tired tonight. I’m going to get home and get to bed and get back in the right time zone. That was the ugliest 28 points I ever had.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

1999-2000 STREAKS

Longest Laker win streaks this season:

* 16--Dec. 11-Jan. 12

* 10--Feb. 4-25

* 7--Nov. 24-Dec. 7

*

CURRENT STREAK

Just off an undefeated six-game trip, the Lakers’ now have won 10 in a row:

Opponent Score

Utah 113-67

Denver 106-98

Minnesota 114-81

at Chicago 88-76

at Charlotte 92-85

at Orlando 107-99 (OT)

at Philadelphia 87-84

at New Jersey 97-89

at Cleveland 116-98

Boston 109-96