Lakers Show They Are Master of House

It was about something other than basketball, some parking thing or another, or which entrance his family would be allowed to use.

Regardless, Shaquille O’Neal wasn’t at all happy when he arrived, wearing his matching blue leather coat and cap, into the Laker locker room at Staples Center.

“This is still my place,” he snapped, pointing a finger to the floor, “home game or not.”

He was right, as he often is in matters of Lakers and Clippers. The Lakers defeated the Clippers, 98-83, Monday night for their 15th consecutive victory in the series. These have become choppy affairs, like brothers on the driveway, emotions a little more taut than usual. So, O’Neal was irked before the first tip.

He scored 16 points, took six rebounds and blocked six shots. Kobe Bryant scored a game-high 29 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and drew praise from Coach Phil Jackson for his effort and decisions.

These issues always arise at faux Clipper home games, typically held immediately after the rent check clears. Clipper owner Donald Sterling’s seat went unoccupied, so perhaps he too, had some difficulty talking his way through the parking security. It happens.

The Lakers find themselves at the wrong end of the floor, much closer to their championship banners, but strangely uncomfortable.

And then the game ends the same way this matchup always does, with the Clippers grasping for their offense and the Lakers steadily putting them away, until a close game looks like just another blowout, another in 15.

“In order for it to be a rivalry, it’s got to be competitive,” Clipper Coach Alvin Gentry said. “It’s not competitive until we beat them.”

At times, though, it looked personal. O’Neal glared once or twice at Michael Olowokandi, where before he hardly noticed the Clipper center. Laker reserve Robert Horry and Clipper forward Lamar Odom tangled in the fourth quarter and were called for matching technical fouls.

“He’s just trying to be a tough guy for their team,” Horry said. “I think it’s tough on all of them. They’re a bunch of you kids. They argue with each other when they don’t pass the ball. That stuff.”

Asked if his feud with Odom might carry over to another game, another time, Horry looked incredulous.

“Hell no,” he said. “That ain’t even worth my time.”

O’Neal viewed Olowokandi’s occasional resistance with the same disdain.

“I missed a lot of shots that I usually make,” O’Neal said. “He was hitting every piece of [stuff] that he threw up.”

It is personal then.

“It should be,” Bryant said. “I’d be frustrated and I’d be upset if a team beat us 15 times in a row. But, we know that. They’re starting to have a little more confidence they can play with us. In the past, Olowokandi was scared of Shaq. Now he’s playing with more confidence.”

Even as Gentry lost his cool early in the first quarter and drew a quick technical foul because O’Neal kept blocking Clipper shots, the Lakers lacked their recent game.

O’Neal had two official blocks in the first quarter, but also swatted away a handful of hangers on continuation calls, the second or third of which infuriated Gentry. His unspoken message: This is supposed to be the Clippers’ place at least as often as it is the Lakers’.

With his center, Olowokandi, having promised to be more physical against O’Neal, Gentry chose that early moment to remind everyone exactly who wore the white here and who wore the purple.

To a degree, it worked.

The Lakers made only 15 field goals in the first half and missed 29. Bryant, who sat for five minutes of the first quarter, made seven of those 15. O’Neal took only six first-half shots and missed all but one, while Olowokandi was strangely proficient on the offense.

Odom, the Clippers’ best player, failed to find a rhythm, primarily because of foul trouble. He drew his fifth foul 12 seconds into the fourth quarter. He was replaced by Keyon Dooling and didn’t return for nearly five minutes. Odom finished with 16 points.

In Odom’s absence, Jeff McInnis (20 points) and Eric Piatkowski (12) helped push the Clipper offense.

The Lakers arrived at a 44-38 halftime lead because the Clippers, too, missed their open shots, and because of a late 10-0 run, stoked in part by Bryant’s four-point play.

In the three weeks since they last played the Clippers, a 108-103 victory they found utterly unsatisfying, the Lakers came closer to playing to Jackson’s model. They’ve also peeked across town, curious about the Clippers.

“The first time we played the Clippers we had no idea who they were, or what kind of team they would have out there on the floor,” Jackson had said. “They are a team of different, changing lineups. They’ve been pretty consistent with Olowokandi, their point guard [McInnis] and Odom. What they do is they play good defense. They control the tempo. There are not too many people that score a lot of points against them. They’ve lost a few games here, but they’ve all been very close. They’re getting very competitive. It’s learning how to win now that’s their problem.”

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