Lakers Enjoy Life in Lifeless Garden

They were getting $1,500 a seat Sunday to watch a hockey match in Salt Lake City between the U.S. and Canada for the Olympic gold medal.

Expensive? It’s a bargain compared to Madison Square Garden, where they get $1,650 for a courtside seat to watch the New York Knicks play.

Do you believe in mediocrity?

The only reason to come to the Garden these days is to watch the high-profile stars of visiting teams flash a few moves for “SportsCenter” and hang another loss on the hapless Knicks.

So in they came Sunday, a sellout crowd of 19,763 to watch the Lakers, to see Shaquille O’Neal get his thunderous dunks, to watch Kobe Bryant beat another buzzer, to watch the two-time defending champions stretch their muscles.

They came, they saw and they sat on their hands.

The Lakers won easily, 107-91, their third consecutive victory after a three-game losing streak.

But it was a less-than-inspired performance by the Lakers as they were the first to concede.

Why? Count the reasons: 1.) The game began at noon, that’s 9 a.m. PST, 2.) The once-vibrant Garden was so quiet it sounded like the 18th tee at Augusta and 3.) The adrenaline was lacking in a clear mismatch.

The mismatch was obvious from the start when the 7-foot-1 O’Neal lined up for the tipoff against 6-9 Kurt Thomas, a true forward only at center because the Knicks’ true center, Marcus Camby, is sidelined indefinitely because of a torn hip muscle.

“There wasn’t a whole lot of energy in the arena today,” said Laker Coach Phil Jackson, who remembers when there was high voltage surging through the crowd when he was a member of a Knick team that won an NBA title “It was a surprise to come here and not see that energetic crowd.”

Laker forward Mark Madsen also noticed.

“We were a little flat,” Madsen said. “Last year when I was here, the place was full of excitement and loud music. Maybe it was just because it was Sunday.”

O’Neal also noticed.

“Coming into the building,” he said, “it had a different feel. It is usually a very hostile arena, but today, it was kind of dead out there.”

Did Madsen, a reserve, find himself dozing off?

“Maybe just a little bit,” he said, tongue in cheek, “before the first time I went in.”

There was plenty of playing time for nearly every Laker in a game they led at one point by 21 and never appeared in danger of losing.

O’Neal, taking advantage of Thomas and Clarence Weatherspoon and anyone else given the unenviable task of defending him, led in scoring with 30 points (12 for 22 from the field, six for 10 from the free-throw line) and rebounding with 15.

Right behind him was Bryant with 27 points, and yes, even in this game, yet another buzzer beater. That has become a Bryant specialty lately. He had one Tuesday night at Staples Center that nearly beat the Boston Celtics, the officials ruling properly that, when time expired, he still had a fingertip on the ball. He had one Friday night in Charlotte to beat the Hornets as time expired.

And Bryant had one Sunday. As the first-quarter buzzer sounded, he connected on a 16-foot jump shot.

“I’m enjoying it so much,” he said.

Also having more fun is forward Robert Horry, enjoying his role as a starter with the elbow injury to Samaki Walker. Horry scored 20 points in 33 minutes Sunday, making eight of 13 from the field, including four of seven from three-point range.

“He showed us what versatility we have when he’s in our lineup,” said Jackson of Horry.

“You warm up, so you go out there and feel loose,” said Horry of being in the starting lineup. “It’s a bad thing when you sit on the bench because you can’t feel as loose.”

For the Knicks, their two big guns put up their expected numbers. Latrell Sprewell and Alan Houston, who had averaged a combined 48 points in New York’s two-game sweep of the Lakers last season, accounted for 43 of the Knicks’ points Sunday. Sprewell had 22, Houston 21.

Sprewell made only eight of 19 from the field, Houston eight of 21.

“You want to find some positives,” Knick Coach Don Chaney said.

“But when you lose like this, you can’t see any positives.”

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road Warriors

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