O’Neal Says Sore Ankle Won’t Be a Problem

Shaquille O’Neal rolled his left ankle early in the fourth quarter on Friday night, played on for another couple of possessions, and then sat out for the last 5:35 of the Lakers’ 111-72 victory, content in his 35 points and 17 rebounds.

He strolled from Staples Center without a limp. As he did, he said the sore ankle did not require tests and would not hinder him when the Lakers play for the sweep of the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday afternoon.

“You know me, bro,” he said, “I’ve got acupuncturists, massage therapists, Indocin, I’ll be straight.”

Reminded that he swore off anti-inflammatory medication in the wake of Alonzo Mourning’s illness, O’Neal shrugged and said, “I got to. Playoffs.”

By 9 o’clock Friday night, the number on the grease board was five.

Phil Jackson has counted them down in postgame locker rooms from Portland to Sacramento to San Antonio to Los Angeles, the wins to repeat their title. A number has come off after every game.

Sometimes there was a message, but most often it was only a number, half-a-foot high, no explanation necessary. Friday’s “5” was followed by the reminder, “Close-out games are a [load].”

“There’s a number you point toward,” Jackson said. “Fifteen is how many it takes to win a championship. As you get rid of one at a time, over the years I put the next amount it takes us to get to that point. It’s kind of a carrot out there, you just have to win this many more games to accomplish the task we’re after. It’s not like we have an 82-game season any more ahead of us and we want to win 60 games, some unattainable number.”

Ten wins to start the postseason is the second-longest streak in NBA history, behind the 11 won by the 1989 Lakers. They were swept in the finals by the Detroit Pistons when Magic Johnson and Byron Scott were injured.

If there is a Game 5, it will be aired at Staples Center, with proceeds benefiting Laker charities. About 7,500, combined, watched the series first two games from the arena.