Lakers Take the Edge Off the Heat

Back, back, back, back . . . Gone!

Four times in less than four minutes of the third quarter, Shaquille O’Neal sent back Alonzo Mourning’s short-range shots, rerouting the course of this game and swatting away any thought that the Lakers would end this five-game trip on a losing note.

It was a grand-slam basketball achievement, which startled the Heat, wiped away a 13-point third-quarter deficit almost instantly and led the Lakers to a 100-89 victory Monday over the Miami Heat before 20,075 at American Airlines Arena.

Most impressive of all, the victory elicited unabashed praise from Coach Phil Jackson, who watched his team beat the New York Knicks on Sunday in Madison Square Garden, then jet to Miami and take care of the Heat.

“They’re making me a believer,” Jackson said quietly. “This team is really making me a believer.”

After losing to the Washington Wizards on Thursday, the Lakers (an NBA-best 56-12 and winners of 22 of their last 23) swept their next three games in four days, finishing the zig-zagging, eight-day trip with a 4-1 mark and a cushy five-game lead over Portland.

It also extended the Lakers’ record in the second leg of back-to-back games to an almost unfathomable 19-1.

If it’s a back-to-back, it must mean it’s back-to-Shaq.

“What makes us so good [in back-to-backs]?” Jackson said. “Shaquille O’Neal--his effort and determination.”

O’Neal scored 28 points and added 12 rebounds and three assists, including a spectacular 20-foot alley-oop jump pass to Kobe Bryant.

But the centerpiece of his night was the defense on Mourning, who had led Miami to a double-digit lead.

The first block came on Miami’s second possession of the second half, with Miami ahead, 57-44, and led to an O’Neal fastbreak lay-up.

The last one came eight Heat possessions later, and led directly to a Bryant layup on a fastbreak pass from O’Neal.

On the next Laker possession, O’Neal hit Bryant with the stunning lob pass, and the score was tied, 59-59, with 6:32 left in the third quarter.

The Heat crumble was almost complete.

“That changes their confidence level on that side of the court when they see their leader being controlled the way Shaquille was controlling him,” Laker forward Rick Fox said of the O’Neal swat surge.

“I think it raised questions in their mind.”

Said O’Neal: “We just had to wake up. I know I had to wake up, personally. I was tired the first half, and then somebody [upset him] . . .”

O’Neal would not say who made him mad, but an odds-on favorite is Mourning, who scored 19 of his game-high 33 points in the first half.

“The second half was a new half,” said O’Neal, who picked up three quick fouls and had to sit out seven minutes of the second quarter. “I just said I’m going to play a little bit better defense.

“Guys like him, Tim [Duncan] and Dave [Robinson], you really don’t want to play that aggressive defense too early, [or] you get quick fouls.”

This was a Miami team that was without big men P.J. Brown and Otis Thorpe because of injuries, making do with a much shorter frontline and relying on Mourning and Tim Hardaway to carry them.

But it was also a team that brought a franchise-record 13-game home winning streak to this game, and the second-best record in the Eastern Conference.

For a half, it worked, as the Heat shot 56.4% and beat the weary Lakers to the ball.

But with Miami firing up quick shots any time O’Neal came into view, the Heat made only 12 of 42 second-half shots (28.6%) and scored only 34 points.

On offense, Glen Rice, a former Heat player who scored 23 points in the teams’ earlier meeting, was a consistent force, scoring 28 points.

“I think at times they leave me open when they shouldn’t,” Rice said. “And it’s kind of hard to believe at times, but I’m happy for it.”

And Jackson is happy with his Lakers, who are now 4-1 against the three top East teams and about to lap the field.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

BY THE NUMBERS

NBA Scoring

O’Neal, Lakers 29.0

Iverson, Phi. 28.9

Hill, Det. 26.2

Malone, Utah 25.92

Carter, Tor. 25.91

On the Road

A look at Laker trips of at least three games this season, with date, Laker record on trip, and opponents’ season winning percentage.

*--*

Date Rec. Opp. Dec. 16-20 4-0 .506 Jan. 12-15 2-1 .583 Feb. 15-23 6-0 .431 March 13-20 4-1 .500

*--*

Overall road record: 27-8

*

WASHINGTON 105, CLIPPERS 93

Mitch Richmond scored 13 of his 21 points in the third quarter and the Wizard reserves outscored the Clipper bench, 61-24, as L.A., playing without starting guard Lamar Odom, lost for the 36th time in their last 41 games. Page 4