Rice Turns Up Heat on Miami

By TIM KAWAKAMI

March 6, 2000 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

There were no audible shrieks for mercy, no thrumming soundtracks and no whispered threats.

No drama, no remorse.

If this were a movie, it wouldn’t be particularly scary, unless you’re trying to get in the Lakers’ way.

The Lakers drained the life out of the Miami Heat in a 93-80 victory before 18,997 at Staples Center on Sunday, once again methodically displaying the ability to terrorize an elite opponent and barely break a sweat.

“They have gone past the point of respect,” Miami Coach Pat Riley said of the Lakers, who raised their NBA-best record to 49-11 and extended their Pacific Division lead over idle Portland to two games. “What they do now is put some fear in you.”

What they do now, more than anything else, is win.

The Lakers, who last lost Feb. 1 in San Antonio, extended their winning streak to 15 games, the third-longest in franchise history but only the second-longest this season.

They did it Sunday despite Shaquille O’Neal’s second consecutive wobbly shooting performance (five for 17) and a 39.5% shooting performance overall. They did it despite not particularly playing well after a blistering, 37-23 first quarter.

But they limited the Miami offense almost strictly to jump shots, led by double-digits almost the entire way, got 23 points from forward Glen Rice (after three consecutive single-digit outings) and were in cruise control for most of the second half.

The Lakers are lapping the field, and still haven’t hit on all cylinders. Isn’t that a good thing?

“Yeah,” Coach Phil Jackson said. “But I don’t want to get swept up in any optimistic feelings. . . .

“This is reminiscent of something that happened about six weeks ago to us [when they followed a 16-game streak with a 3-6 struggle] . . . We kind of came to a grinding halt finally when we had to go on the road and had to face a tough opponent.

“We’re going to have to get a little sharper, a little tighter.”

Maybe not against Eastern Conference teams, however.

The Lakers have won their last 10 games against the East, are 22-2 overall against those teams, including back-to-back home demolitions of the teams with the top two records in the East, beginning with Indiana on Friday.

“I think it’s a huge statement,” Rice, who also had a season-high 10 rebounds, said. “I think in the last couple of days we’ve played the one and two [-seeded teams] in the East and pretty much were able to go out there and handle them.”

Said O’Neal, when asked about the Lakers’ dominance of the East: “We have a pretty good team. We match up with pretty good with everybody.

“And most teams that are dominant in the East have dominant big men. And we’re not too bad in that department.”

For Rice, the matchup with his former team--he maintains a home in South Florida--was a breakout game after three consecutive invisible outings.

Rice fire-started the Laker first quarter with 13 points.

“Glen told me before the game, he said, ‘Yo, Kobe, I’m ready to go man,” said Kobe Bryant, who had 15 points and seven rebounds.

“So I knew he was going to come out, do his thing. He was just ready to be aggressive, even more assertive. . . .

“I think he’s just starting to get his rhythm back. . . . and it’s on him to be more aggressive, not to be as passive as he was.”

Said Rice: “From [the] jump, I wanted to be aggressive. I wanted to go out there and do things I’m very capable of doing, penetrate, pull up for the short jumper. When I do have an opening, go all the way to the hole. . . .

“And on the defensive end, try to pick it up as strong as possible, and rebound. And those are the things I’ve got to continue to do.”

Meanwhile, the Lakers’ main man, O’Neal, was content to come through in other, less obvious areas.

He had seven assists, was seven for 12 from the free-throw line and got the Heat front line in serious foul trouble from almost the first minutes of the game.

O’Neal even took a charge from Alonzo Mourning, which had Ron Harper smiling afterward.

“Unbelievable,” Harper said. “I was shocked at that.”

Said O’Neal: “There’s only three or four dominant big men in the league. I kind of know all their moves. ‘Zo and [Patrick] Ewing and Dikembe [Mutombo], it’s fake left, go right all the time. But that time, he went left and I stayed in front of him.”

Jackson said that O’Neal clearly was tired, which led to all his missed shots, but O’Neal said he felt more beat up than weary.

And he said that defeating good teams without monster scoring performances by either him or Bryant could only be a good sign.

“That’s what being on a good team is all about,” O’Neal said. “We have a lot of weapons on this team. And I missed a couple of chippies there, but my teammates stepped up for me. And I looked good.

“But they know when they need me to hit those shots, I hit them, every time.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Streaks and Beyond

TOP WINNING STREAKS OF SEASON

16: Dec.11-Jan. 12

15: Feb. 4-current

7: Nov. 24-Dec. 7

STREAK NUMBERS

Avg. points scored: 101.5

Avg. points allowed: 87.3

FG%: .467

Opponent FG%: .403