Lakers Cash One In at the Bank

Welcome back, Spurs.

Last spring’s Western finalists met again Friday night and, for the sixth time in a row, counting playoffs, the Lakers won, 94-91, but this one was nothing like the preceding five, which the Spurs had lost by an average of 21 points.

Also and not coincidentally, this one included Tony Parker, the Spur from Paris, 19 years old and just back from the injured list, who galvanized his teammates, coming off the bench to score 14 points in 27 minutes and turning what looked like another budding rout into a tie game going down the stretch.

It was Lakers 93, Spurs 91, when Parker tried to tie it again, forcing a 15-foot turnaround and barely grazing the rim. The Lakers rebounded, Shaquille O’Neal was fouled, made one of two, Terry Porter missed a three at the buzzer and that was that.

“I thought he [Parker] played great,” said Coach Gregg Popovich afterward. “He’s a young kid, he hadn’t played in two, three weeks, whatever, but he’s got a fire in his belly. He’s a hell of a competitor.

“We’re going to keep improving so we can hopefully play these guys [Lakers] at the end of the year.”

The Spurs came into the game off Thursday night’s win over the Jazz in Salt Lake City, but even that wasn’t without blemish. The Spurs failed to get a single offensive rebound which, they later learned, was an NBA low.

Said Porter before Friday’s game, laughing: “We’re making some history we don’t want. Too much history.”

Some history you’re stuck with. Before the game, Popovich said he was thinking of breaking one of his rules, and starting Parker, who had missed five games with a badly sprained ankle and had yet to practice with the team.

“I’m thinking long-term,” Popovich said. “At this point, he needs to play in every NBA game he can and the fact it’s the Lakers is good. Let him get used to playing against them.”

These teams have been trading humiliations for years, the Spurs sweeping the Lakers in the ’99 playoffs, before the Lakers got the Spurs last spring. With two seven-footers, the Spurs are unique; they can defend O’Neal within the rules.

For that reason, no matter how the Lakers may deny it, they’re always looking out for the Spurs.

“They’re a team that has the ability to double-team [O’Neal] with bigs,” said Phil Jackson before the game, “come across and block shots with the other big guy when Shaquille gets in the lane, so they’re actually very good, within the spirit of the rules.

“And now that there’s zone availabilities for this team, they can do a lot more with what they have. Like the Clippers a lot of times the other night had two guys on Shaquille. They didn’t even bother to play our power forward.”

The problem for the Spurs is one of their “bigs,” David Robinson, has been left out of the offense for so long, he barely has any offensive game left. On defense, when the Spurs play the Lakers, he has to line up on O’Neal and that isn’t fair either. David is 36 and weighs 250. Shaq is 29 and weighs as much as Mike Tyson and Oscar De La Hoya combined.

Last week, when the Lakers won in San Antonio, Popovich complained later that “a couple of our guys” didn’t show. As San Antonio Express-News columnist noted, Popovich was actually referring to his “7-1 couple of people.”

That wasn’t the end of it.

“I’m not trying to single Five-O [Robinson] out but he’s the guy,” said Porter. “This has always been--no matter the situation--the Twin Towers and their supporting cast. We just have to get him comfortable again or confident.”

As he has been recently, Robinson was more active Friday--12 rebounds worth--but no more successful, with O’Neal going for 18 on him in the first half, making nine of 12 shots.

Parker’s first few minutes were tentative and his first few shots were wild, but he began to settle in in the second half and the Spurs kept edging closer.

It had been a long time since the Spurs were in a game against the Lakers in the fourth quarter, so for them, at least, it was progress. It may not be enough, but for the moment, they’ll take it.