Lakers Win Deep in Heart of Texas

By TIM BROWN

Feb. 22, 2001 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

SAN ANTONIO —

Down an all-star and dragging themselves along at the end of a six-city tour of Iversons, Marburys, Duncans and all the pick-and-rolls they could eat, the Lakers played another night with desperation unusual for them.

Kobe Bryant, averaging 29.6 points, did not play because of a sprained right ankle. So Coach Phil Jackson went longer and deeper into his rotation, and five starters and two reserves scored at least 10 points. Shaquille O’Neal found teammates in the offense, and teammates found him back.

And in the fourth quarter, with their bench players waving towels, the Lakers pulled away and then hung on to defeat the San Antonio Spurs, 101-99, at the Alamodome, where the Lakers hadn’t won in more than two years.

“We knew coming in that if we played a perfect game and kept it close down the stretch that we could possibly win,” O’Neal said. “My teammates did a great job, as I was being double- and triple-teamed. They hit the open shot.”

In six games over 10 days, the Lakers lost two games, Ron Harper, Bryant and, finally, in the last half of the last game, their legendary broadcaster. Harper went to the injured list in Indiana. Bryant rolled an ankle in Dallas.

And Chick Hearn, in his 3,272nd consecutive game broadcast, got laryngitis in San Antonio.

But when they loaded everybody into a bus and headed for the airport and a trip to Los Angeles, they would only remember the final moments of the final game, and the celebration of a gritty victory without Bryant and his 30 automatic points.

“It felt like going into the woods to fight a bear with a club,” Jackson said, “instead of a gun.”

O’Neal led them with 22 points. He made four of five free-throw attempts, two of three in the fourth quarter.

Beyond that, as they did the night before in a 10-point victory in Dallas, the Lakers took their offense anywhere they could find it. Robert Horry scored 10 fourth-quarter points and 13 overall. Horace Grant scored 10 first-quarter points, 12 total. J.R. Rider scored 16 points in 29 minutes and Mike Penberthy had 10 in 28 minutes.

Rick Fox, who had 22 points and 11 rebounds against the Mavericks, played well again. He had 17 points and nine rebounds.

Tim Duncan had 23 points for the Spurs, who were 14 of 24 from the free-throw line and were outrebounded, 39-28.

“It was a disappointing performance on our part,” Spur Coach Gregg Popovich said.

The staid Lakers, so often lacking energy and emotion, whipped white towels over their heads when the lead grew to 12 points and the seconds fell away. They bumped chests. They invested high-fives on each other, and Grant’s face did not once bleed.

The Lakers had not won at the Alamodome since Feb. 8, 1999, a span of six games including the 1999 playoffs. They also had lost nine of 11 to the Spurs. Additionally, the elderly Lakers were 5-7 in the second of back-to-back games.

“As a whole, everyone contributed, and I think that’s what it’s about,” said Rider, who didn’t play the fourth quarter but led the cheers.

“That’s what it’s about right now--having fun, cheering your guys on. If you play the right way, it’s not about tension. It’s easy to cheer people on. It’s easy to be there. The bottom line is Rick scored. I scored. Robert scored. When we do that, we’re hard to beat, and there’s not so much tension on the Shaq-and-Kobe thing.”

Any dependency on that might have whooshed away in the fourth quarter. With O’Neal in foul trouble, Jackson started the quarter with a 75-73 lead and this unit: Horry, Penberthy, Brian Shaw, Devean George and Mark Madsen.

Nearly five minutes later, when O’Neal returned, the Lakers led, 83-78. Five minutes after that, they led, 96-84.

“Their energy was good,” Jackson said of his B-team. “Mark Madsen got a couple rebounds. He helped out defensively. We had some big shots from Robert. We had some big plays for ourselves. I was counting the minutes to get Shaq and Rick back in the ballgame. But I could sit them an extra two minutes I didn’t think I was going to be able to.”

When it ended, O’Neal was back on the bench, resting, the lead secure. He made his free throws again, now 49 of 82 of them after the All-Star break. He grinned loudly over this victory that pulled them even with the Spurs in record (35-18) and virtually even with Sacramento (34-17).

“We’re still right there,” O’Neal said. “We’ll be fine.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

LAKERS

If the season ended today, the Lakers would be seeded fourth. Where they rank statistically with the other potential playoff teams in the Western Conference:

POINTS PER GAME

1. Lakers: 100.7

PPG ALLOWED

1. San Antonio: 88.5

11. Lakers: 98.1

FG PCT. ALLOWED

1. San Antonio: .420

6. Lakers: .439

REBOUNDS PER GAME

1. Lakers: 43.9

FREE THROW PCT.

1. Dallas: .800