No Backtracking in Milwaukee

If you believe in karma, Wednesday night’s game against the Bucks posed just as great a threat to the Lakers’ winning streak as the looming back-to-backs at Indiana and Minnesota.

This is the city where the Lakers’ record 33-game streak ended in 1972. For good measure, the Bradley Center is where the Bulls won their 70th game in the 1995-96 season to take the NBA’s all-time best record from that 1971-72 Laker team. You can see why Milwaukee held some bad vibes for this franchise. After a 103-94 victory over the Bucks, you can add good mojo to the list of things the Lakers have working in their favor.

They’re taking out every possible factor that could go against them, much like Shaquille O’Neal rejecting every soft shot that comes into the paint.

Glen Rice spent the day in a state of shock after hearing his former Charlotte Hornet teammate, Bobby Phills, had died in a car crash, and it remained on his mind even in the locker room before the game. He still scored 20 points.

O’Neal felt a little off, so he had an “off” night of 27 points and 10 rebounds.

In addition to whatever feelings and bad history the Lakers brought into the game, the Bucks actually had some weapons to challenge them. Their top three of Ray Allen, Glen Robinson and Sam Cassell combine to average 62.5 points a game--only six fewer than the Lakers’ big boys.

On Wednesday, the Bucks’ trio came out firing, hitting eight of their first nine shots, and putting the Lakers down, 16-7.

Big deal. By the time O’Neal, Rice and Kobe Bryant (22 points) finished doing their thing, the Lakers’ 16th victory in a row was in the refrigerator with four minutes and change remaining.

“I just didn’t believe we were going to win this game that easily,” said Laker Coach Phil Jackson, who seems more mystified by his team’s success than anyone else.

It turns out the only streak in serious jeopardy Wednesday was Chick Hearn’s run of games behind the microphone. He caught that flu bug that’s going around and said before the game that he really shouldn’t have made the trip. But at tipoff he was right where he always is, and The Streak of All Laker Streaks is alive at 3,150.

Of course, Hearn was there when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar led the Bucks past the Lakers on Jan. 9, 1972. So was assistant coach Jim Cleamons, who was a rookie on that record-setting Laker team.

“We were poised to get beat,” Cleamons said. “Plus, it was on national TV. [The Bucks] were the defending champions.

“We played Friday down in Atlanta. We were poised to lose.”

Cleamons didn’t have the same feeling about this Laker team before Wednesday night’s game. The Lakers had played some of their best stretches of basketball during the third quarter at Seattle and the first quarter against Denver in the two previous games.

And it’s obvious to anyone who’s watching that the Lakers are feeling comfortable in the triangle offense. They’re patient and they’re getting quality shots almost every time down the court.

Meanwhile, the Lakers aren’t giving anything away easily when they’re on defense.

If, like me, you have nothing better to do with your life, go to NBA.com sometime during a Laker game and check out the live stats. The shot chart usually shows the Lakers get most of their baskets inside, while the majority of the opponents’ shots come from around the perimeter. The finally tally of points in the paint Wednesday: Lakers 50, Bucks 24.

Opponents are scared to go inside against them.

Allen dished off every time he came through the lane. Robinson lives off the fall-away jumper, but he was falling farther away and his shots were coming up shorter. One time he got so out of his game he threw up a sweeping hook shot.

One glance from Shaq is enough to cause players to pass off or do other crazy things.

“I’ve noticed a pattern of teams really shooting a lot of jump shots against us,” Derek Fisher said. “You have to give a lot of credit to Shaq.”

Opponents do, on a nightly basis. Shaq either blocks shots or forces opponents to change them. Most shooters leave with either their feelings or their bodies hurt.

“I know when I was coming in, the shots he didn’t block, the shots he fouled me, made me think twice,” Cassell said.

If the rest of the league’s worst nightmare was Shaq playing to his full potential, the next leading cause of sleep deprivation was the thought of Bryant playing a disciplined game.

It’s Sominex time.

Bryant playing with more and more patience. He’s down to about one bad shot per half. As spectacular as his 27-point first half against Denver looked on the highlight tapes, the thing the coaching staff found even more impressive was how Kobe didn’t get carried away in the third quarter and start jacking up wild shots. Instead of the widely anticipated “adjustment period” when Bryant returned from his hand injury, the Lakers are 20-1 with him back.

But it’s that magic number of 16 in a row that has everyone talking. Are the Lakers thinking about it as well?

“It’s kind of hard not to,” Bryant said. “You guys write about it every day.”

You have it all turned around, Kobe. It’s kind of hard not to write about it. You guys win every night.

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J.A. Adande can be reached at his e-mail address: j.a.adande@latimes.com.