Ball Has No Comment as O’Neal Is Honored

That ceremony the Lakers never had to celebrate Shaquille O’Neal’s 20,000th point, which O’Neal mentioned only occasionally, was finally held before Sunday’s game.

O’Neal became the 28th NBA player to reach 20,000 on March 20 in Sacramento. However, the Lakers left without the ball, after a King fan wrote a rude comment on it. The Kings sent a formal apology and promised to investigate.

The ball was sent back to the Lakers last week with the comment still on it.

The Lakers cleaned it up and General Manager Mitch Kupchak presented it to O’Neal before Sunday’s game.

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Another night, another playoff scenario.

Before the Lakers’ latest improbable rally, and before Portland, Minnesota and Utah started struggling, Laker Coach Phil Jackson talked about not burning his players out down a stretch run that seemed headed nowhere.

Now that opportunity seems to have come looking for them, Jackson said he’s not opposed to a move up.

“We’re just trying to keep pace with some expectations we have as a basketball team,” he said before Sunday’s game. “We have an obligation to try and do the best we possibly can and we were fortunate to win a game in the fourth quarter Friday night [in Memphis] and keep some dim hopes alive of us moving up the standings. Now we have a reality or a possibility of actually being in fifth or fourth place.”

By finishing fifth, the Lakers would open the playoffs against Minnesota or Portland. Finishing fourth would give them home-court advantage against the Trail Blazers or Timberwolves.

If the Lakers stay where they are, they would open against San Antonio or Dallas and, barring a major upset, would be on the road throughout the West playoffs.

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Jackson, still looking for his starting power forward, put Samaki Walker back in the lineup, after using him as a backup center in recent weeks, and not at all in the last two games.

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Kupchak will be honored Wednesday night with the rest of the 1978 Washington Bullets on the 25th anniversary of the team’s NBA title.

Elvin Hayes, Wes Unseld, Kevin Grevey, coach Dick Motta, owner Abe Pollin and Kupchak, among others, will take part in a ceremony at halftime of the Wizard-Boston Celtic game at MCI Center.

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Staff writer Tim Brown contributed to this report.