Hobbled O’Neal Seeks Pain Relief

Shaquille O’Neal, limping after practice Saturday, said he would again start taking the anti-inflammatory drug Indocin because of pain in his left knee and right big toe.

“I’m doing bad; I’m hurting,” the Laker center said. “I can’t play like this. I’m going to have to get back on the medicine. I just hope it don’t mess me up on the inside.”

O’Neal doesn’t like taking Indocin because it upsets his stomach and causes health concerns regarding its long-term use. The drug has been linked to liver and kidney problems in some users.

But O’Neal said he needs medication to play at an effective level. He had only five rebounds in 40 minutes Friday in a 103-95 loss to the San Antonio Spurs, ending the Lakers’ winning streak at seven games.

“His activity level was very low,” Coach Phil Jackson said. “We don’t have a whole lot of break time [so] I’ll have to watch him real carefully.”

Jackson added he might have to shorten O’Neal’s playing time.

To which a skeptical O’Neal responded, “Yeah, right.”

“You just have to suck it up,” he said. “The team’s doing well right now. Kobe’s still in a zone. I just need to get that step back. I’ll have it back. It’s still there.”

Teammates are concerned but confident O’Neal will cope with the pain and continue to be a dominant force.

“We know how much pounding he takes night in and night out,” Derek Fisher said. “So we understand there are going to be times when he doesn’t have the energy.

“We know he’ll be there for us when the time comes.”

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Jackson wore a chef’s shirt to practice, presumably to whip up a new recipe for success after Friday’s loss. That could include finding more offensive balance after Kobe Bryant scored 44 points on 19-for-41 shooting against the Spurs.

“We [talked Saturday] morning about the fact that probably 41 shots aren’t the best possible thing for any basketball club,” Jackson said.

Jackson, though, said he’s still looking for Bryant to “push the offensive envelope” after he scored at least 35 points for the eighth consecutive game.

“In analyzing the tape, if Kobe makes the dunk and the four layups he missed, everybody’s talking about a 50-point ball game, and we win,” Jackson said. “But that didn’t happen, and some of it is probably because I didn’t take him out and rest him a little bit in the third quarter.”

San Antonio outscored the Lakers, 30-22, in the third quarter, when Bryant made only three of 10 shots.

Bryant agreed that 41 shots were too many for one player.

“I have to make sure everybody is staying within the context of the offense and not just giving me the ball,” he said. “I’m willing to do whatever it takes for the team to be successful.”

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TONIGHT

vs. New York, 6:30

Fox Sports Net

Site -- Staples Center.

Radio -- KLAC (570), KWKW (1330), KIRN (670).

Records -- Lakers 26-24, Knicks 22-28.

Record vs. Knicks -- 1-0.

Update -- Kobe Bryant scored 46 points to lead the Lakers over the Knicks, 114-109, on Feb. 6 in New York during the Lakers’ seven-game winning streak. Both teams are battling for playoff spots. The Lakers are half a game behind the Houston Rockets for eighth place in the Western Conference; the Knicks are two games out of eighth in the Eastern Conference. Seven Knicks scored in double figures Friday in a 116-115 victory at Phoenix.