Indiana Just Can’t Match Pace of Lakers

Shaquille O’Neal had a tough shooting night, and it didn’t matter.

Glen Rice didn’t get many shots or make many, and it didn’t matter.

Reggie Miller was able to draw fouls and drive the Laker defense a little batty, and that didn’t matter to the Lakers, either.

Does anything matter but the surging momentum in Lakerland these days?

With a victory as precise and emphatic as any of the 47 that have preceded it this season, the Lakers wiped the Staples Center floor with the Indiana Pacers, 107-92, before 18,997 and sent a loud and clear message along the way:

In early March, with the rest of the league falling at their feet, this is getting very serious.

NBA finals serious.

And if these teams happen to meet again in June for Round 3, the aftereffects of this crunching knockout are sure to linger.

The Lakers won their 14th consecutive game, which was especially meaningful on Friday because it was Indiana that ended their 16-game winning streak on Jan. 14 at Conseco Fieldhouse and sent the Lakers into a 3-6 tailspin.

Indiana, which lost by 31 points on Thursday in Phoenix, still has the best record in the Eastern Conference at 39-19, but the Pacers were toyed with by the Lakers on this night, who raised their NBA-best mark to 48-11 and stayed 1 1/2 games ahead of Portland in the Pacific Division.

Robert Horry came off the bench to lead the key surges for the Lakers, scoring 14 points on five-of-seven shooting, and had four assists and four rebounds.

And O’Neal, despite a 13-for-28 shooting night, scored a game-high 31 points and grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds in a relatively relaxing 36 minutes of action.

Horry acknowledged that the Lakers were motivated by the challenge of playing a team that beat them earlier, and might be around later when the championship is on the line.

“I think it’s the fact that they broke our streak the last time, we wanted to keep our streak going and we’re at home,” Horry said.

At one point in the second half, perhaps for the first time in his Laker career, Horry even heard parts of the crowd chant his name, “Hor-ry, Hor-ry” in tribute to his recent quality play.

“I appreciate that fans realize when you’re having a good game and they acknowledge it,” Horry said with a smile. “And I’m happy about that.”

Laker Coach Phil Jackson said of Horry: “When you have a player that brings . . . the ability to score from the outside from that position, in this offense, it means that you have to play the whole floor and you don’t have a place to help from and that makes it even more valuable for Shaq to have that spacing out there. . . .

“It makes the whole offense click a little better.”

In fact, Jackson has been calling Horry the key to the Lakers’ season, emphasizing that if he plays well, everything goes smoother.

“He’s been saying that ever since Day 1,” Horry said. “And I appreciate the vote of confidence, but I don’t want that pressure on me.

“I think the whole team is the key, not just one player. If everybody plays well together as a team, we can be successful.”

Said O’Neal: “When we’ve got guys like Robert, Rick [Fox] and B. Shaw [Brian Shaw] coming off the bench playing well, we’re a hard team to beat.

“We already have our three major weapons, but when our role players can come out and do the job like Robert Horry did tonight, then we’re a hard team to play. . . .

“I’m happy for Rob, he’s been playing well. Coach told him when his guy leans off, just shoot, and he’s been shooting the ball well. I’m sure his confidence is real, real high right now.”

Indiana made only 30 of its 76 field-goal tries (39.5%), and Jalen Rose (four for 15) and Mark Jackson (two for nine) were especially hampered by the Laker defense.

The only time it got close was when Miller, who finished with 22 points, led a mini-run by the Pacers in the third quarter, scoring 14 of the team’s 27 points in the period.

The Laker lead dwindled to 12 points on two occasions, and was 80-66 at the end of three.

Then, when a Mark Jackson three-pointer and a Dale Davis fastbreak dunk cut the Laker lead to single digits (80-71) for the first time since the opening possessions of the second quarter, things got a little more serious.

From there, O’Neal scored three consecutive inside baskets, sandwiched around a free throw, and the Lakers were back to an 87-73 lead.

“If we continue to play like we have the last two days,’ Pacer Coach Larry Bird said when asked about meeting the Lakers in the finals, “we probably won’t even make the playoffs.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

STREAKING

BEST OF SEASON

* 16--Dec.11-Jan. 12

* 14--Feb. 4-Friday

* 7--Nov. 24-Dec. 7

*

CURRENT STREAK

The Lakers have won 14 in a row. A look at the score and the opponent’s field-goal percentage in each game:

Opponent: Score (Pct.)

1. Utah: 113-67 (.296)

2. Denver: 106-98 (.419)

3. Minnesota: 114-81 (.341)

4. at Chicago: 88-76 (.377)

5. at Charlotte: 92-85 (.416)

6. at Orlando: 107-99, OT (.454)

7. at Phila.: 87-84 (.388)

8. at New Jersey: 97-89 (.436)

9. at Cleveland: 116-98 (.468)

10. Boston: 109-96 (.416)

11. Houston: 101-85 (.358)

12. at Portland: 90-87 (.404)

13. Vancouver: 103-91 (.447)

14. Indiana: 107-92 (.395)

KEEPING PACE

The Lakers lost their first meeting against the Pacers, 111-102, on Jan. 14 in Indiana. A comparison of key stats in the Pacer victory and Friday’s Laker victory:

*--*

JAN. 14 LA Ind FG%: .457 .476 FT: 12-16 22-23 3-Pt: 4-15 9-20 Reb: 42 48 TO: 10 13 *

FRIDAY LA Ind FG%: .461 .395 FT: 21-26 26-36 3-Pt: 4-7 6-15 Reb: 50 39 TO: 13 18

*--*