Kobe Picks Up Slaq

By TIM BROWN

May 12, 2001 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

SACRAMENTO —

This is what awaits whoever has next; Shaquille O’Neal in the post or Kobe Bryant on the wing, whatever, because it no longer seems to matter to them.

So, the resolve of the Lakers grew deeper Friday night, into the psyches of the deadened Sacramento Kings, into the basketball soul of a team and a town that had their doubts going in anyway.

Bryant scored 36 points and the Lakers won, 103-81, at Arco Arena. They have won the first three games of the best-of-seven series, 14 in a row overall, and are a victory from the Western Conference finals. Game 4 is Sunday afternoon.

The team that convinced itself it could handle the Lakers here, where the cowbells clatter, sagged again, and apparently will be eliminated from the playoffs for the second consecutive year by the hated Lakers, who haven’t lost as many as three consecutive games in the two-year Phil Jackson era.

“I’m just kind of wallowing in this self-pity over this loss,” King forward Chris Webber said.

That is because Webber, the savior of the franchise who is free to go with the next King defeat, did not lift his team in the second half. Or the first, for that matter.

Bryant did. His 36 points were a career playoff high. He scored 26 in the second half, making his final seven shots after missing 10 in a row.

“You don’t know how much experience can help you until you go through it,” Bryant said. “We know how to finish games now, and we do it.”

After watching O’Neal carry the offense in the first two games of the series, Bryant saw O’Neal drowning in King defenders and took the offense to the perimeter.

“Shaq came up to us and said, ‘Don’t worry about me, you guys just do whatever it takes,’ ” Bryant said.

The Lakers, who sagged somewhat in the middle two quarters after taking a 10-point lead after one, had 38 points in the fourth quarter.

“This was the type of basketball that we need to play to be successful and defend our title,” Laker guard Derek Fisher said. “Shaquille was not on his best performance and Kobe picked up the slack, and other guys on this basketball team stepped up and made big shots for us.”

After scoring 87 points in the first two games of the series, O’Neal was one of the other guys. He took only two shots in the first half, 13 for the game, and scored 21 points. He missed nine of 14 free-throws, a handful when Sacramento Coach Rick Adelman went to the Hack-a-Shaq with more than five minutes remaining.

Afterward, O’Neal said the King centers and bench spent too much time complaining about him to the referees and not nearly enough time playing their game. It worked to a degree--O’Neal was called for three fouls, all on the offensive end, in the first half, when he played 15 minutes.

“This was one of the easiest playoff games of my career,” said O’Neal, who took 18 rebounds and has 65 in the series. “I’ll be fresh for Sunday, and I’ll be mad. You’re not going to beat Shaq O’Neal by crying and whining. Just play ball.”

Bryant, who also had three offensive fouls in the first half, scored 16 of his points from the free-throw line. Rick Fox scored 11 points. Fisher scored 12. Webber scored 28, 10 in the fourth quarter, most of which was played with the Lakers well in front.

The Lakers, who never trailed, played nine minutes of the first half without O’Neal and seven minutes without Bryant.

The Lakers would not say the series was over, that they were now playing to stay fresh for the conference finals, but they didn’t really have to.

The Kings gave up 29 points in the first quarter, when they had to play well to keep their loud crowd involved. They shot 35.2% from the floor.

They took away O’Neal best they could with early double-teams, and simply lost to the other guy, Bryant. And the flat looks in their eyes happened fast. The Lakers looked as if they were going to win from the start, and the Kings didn’t need much convincing.

“We sensed it probably earlier than that, but definitely in the fourth quarter,” Fisher said. “It’s a tough situation to be in--when you have to win. It makes you a little tight. Not nervous or scared, but tight.

“It’s tough. Other than pride, it’s tough to play good basketball in an elimination game.”

Said Doug Christie, who scored 10 points before two late technical fouls caused his ejection: “Them and San Antonio [leading Dallas, 3-0, in the other West semifinal] are looking good. When Shaq is playing like that and Kobe is hitting his shots, and other guys are contributing, they’re awfully tough.”

For expanded coverage of the Laker-King series, including photo galleries and postgame interviews, please visit the Times’ Web site: https://www.latimes.com/nbaplayoffs

J.A. Adande: This year’s theme is “Pomp and Circumstance.” D9

Mark Heisler: That big effort from the Kings? Never happened. D9

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The Streak

The Lakers’ 14-game win streak (the last six games are playoffs):

April 3 at Utah: 96-88

April 5 at Chicago: 100-88

April 6 at Boston: 100-96

April 8 at Minnesota: 104-99

April 10 Phoenix: 106-80

April 12 Minnesota: 119-102

April 15 Portland: 105-100