Shaq Washes Away Wizards

Kobe Bryant watched in a cream-colored suit, Ron Harper was on crutches, Robert Horry was out because of a stiff neck, J.R. Rider missed the morning shoot-around because of an upset stomach . . .

Whew, another five injuries and they might have been in trouble!

Fortunately for the Lakers, they were playing the Washington Wizards, for whom being short-handed is not a consequence of injury but a way of life. So it was no surprise when Shaquille O’Neal missed his second career triple-double by two assists and the Lakers won, 104-91, Friday night at Staples Center.

O’Neal had 40 points, 17 rebounds, eight assists, five blocks and made 10 of 13 free throws.

“You talk about confidence bubbling over and permeating a team,” teammate Rick Fox said. “The things he does affects us, positively and negatively, so when he’s charged and excited about playing, doing kung fu roles out there, jumping up, it makes the game fun for all of us.”

Said Wizard Coach Leonard Hamilton: “We really didn’t have an answer for Shaq tonight, obviously. Not very many people will.”

How short-handed were the Lakers?

Coach Phil Jackson even let Rider play.

After sitting out the last three games, Rider got back onto the court--to cheers--late in the first quarter. He went on to play 25 minutes, scoring eight points with six assists, taking 13 shots, missing nine of them.

“I thought he looked a little hesitant out there to pass the ball, keep it moving in our offense,” said Jackson, continuing a season-long refrain.

“Offensively, he got a roll going in both halves. I thought it was a good start-up game.”

The Lakers started the night a little short, and got shorter.

Harper and Bryant had already been ruled out before everyone reported to the arena. Rider had missed the shoot-around because of a stomach ailment, according to the team, but Jackson said Rider would be “pressed into action,” like the trouper he is.

Then Horry was scratched just before game time because of a strained neck. He was given an MRI earlier in the day by Dr. Dan Kharazzi of the Kerlan-Jobe Clinic, which came back negative.

Even with Mike Penberthy making a miracle recovery from his sore shoulder and coming off the injured list, replacing Tyronn Lue, that left only 10 Lakers in uniform.

Of course, the Wizards had problems of their own. They started the night with a 17-51 record, having recently traded two of their best players, Juwan Howard and Rod Strickland, to get rid of their contracts. Three of the former Dallas Mavericks they got for Howard, Christian Laettner, Hubert Davis and rookie Courtney Alexander, were in their starting lineup.

And, fortunately for the Lakers, one of their 10 was O’Neal.

Against him, the Wizards lined up the bull-necked, 6-foot-9, 290-pound Jahidi White . . . well, for at least the first 2:22. That’s how long it took White to get two fouls and a ticket back to the bench.

The next Wizard in was 6-8, 250-pound Popeye Jones, whom despite his nickname, was hardly up to the task. Spotting O’Neal at least three inches and 75 pounds, he was run over and thrown out of the way regularly as O’Neal went for 11 points in the first quarter.

The rest of the Lakers missed 13 of their first 18 shots, so the game stayed competitive for a while, at least on the scoreboard. However, late in the second period, the supporting cast started hitting the occasional shot, led by Derek Fisher, who finished the half with 13 points as the Lakers eased into a 60-55 lead.

Then, early in the third quarter, the Lakers went on an 8-0 run, ending when O’Neal blocked two White shots in a row and Brian Shaw made a 20-footer at the other end, as the Lakers opened up a 74-63 lead. By the start of the fourth quarter, they were up 15.

Unfortunately for the Lakers, their next three games are against Western Conference playoff teams. They’re in Sacramento on Sunday, in Phoenix on Monday and return to meet the Kings here Wednesday.

“We have to win one of those games against Sacramento, that’s for sure,” Jackson said. “That’s a challenge for us.”

“How do we feel about it?” Fox said. “We’d rather not be short-handed, especially against the teams we have coming up but it’s nice to know that in the course of things, we can still find a way to win games. With all the adversity we’ve been through, injuries, suspensions, we’ve had the full array.”

*

THE KOBE REPORT: The Lakers decided against putting Kobe Bryant on the injured list because of his injured ankles, but he still might wind up sitting out five games anyway. D14