Lakers Beat Spurs to Get Back in Series
LOS ANGELES – Shaquille O’Neal dove headlong in a futile attempt to come up with a loose ball in the San Antonio backcourt.
A foul was called on the Los Angeles Lakers’ star, but the crowd went crazy, loving the effort.
While O’Neal’s decision to just go for it might not have been very smart, it helped get the Lakers off and running to a 105-81 victory over San Antonio on Sunday, cutting the Spurs’ lead to 2-1 in the Western Conference semifinals.
“It sparked us,” Kobe Bryant said of the first-quarter play. “It let everybody know how big this game was and the sense of urgency that we needed to play with.”
Only seven NBA teams have come back to win a best-of-seven series after losing the first two games. But no team has ever prevailed after losing the first three – a fact the Lakers knew only too well.
O’Neal had his best game in recent memory with 28 points, 15 rebounds, five assists and eight blocked shots, prompting coach Phil Jackson to say, “He was incredible.”
Bryant added 22 points, six rebounds and six assists; Gary Payton had 15 points and seven assists, and Karl Malone had 13 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Lakers, who shot 56.9 percent.
“We knew what we had to do today,” O’Neal said. “We really didn’t ever lose confidence, we just did not take care of the basketball and we let two games slip away. Today, we played good defense and shot the ball well.”
Game 4 will be played Tuesday night at Staples Center, with Game 5 Thursday night in San Antonio.
In the only other playoff action Sunday, New Jersey beat Detroit 82-64 to cut the Pistons’ lead to 2-1 in the Eastern Conference series.
Two games are scheduled Monday night – Indiana plays at Miami, and Minnesota is at Sacramento. The Pacers lead the Heat 2-0 in the Eastern Conference semifinals and the Timberwolves and Kings are tied 1-1 in the Western Conference series.
San Antonio’s loss snapped a 17-game winning streak – the last 11 of the regular season and the first six of the playoffs. The Spurs had also won eight straight postseason games dating back to the NBA Finals against New Jersey last June.
“Los Angeles really dismantled us,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “The aggressive team wins in the NBA, and especially in the playoffs, and I thought the Lakers were aggressive from the beginning.”
Tim Duncan scored 54 points, and Tony Parker had 50 points and 14 assists to lead the Spurs to a pair of 10-point victories to begin the series.
It was a much different story in Game 3 as Duncan shot 4-of-14 for 10 points and committed six turnovers, and Parker was 4-of-12 for eight points and had three turnovers – one more than his total in the first two games.
“They were very aggressive out of the gate,” Duncan said. “Guys were really stepping back into the lane and trying to get me to get rid of the ball. I thought they had a good defensive scheme and executed it well. They took us all out of our games.”
Jackson said his team decided to plug the lane and give up the 3-point shot. The strategy worked, even though the Spurs shot 11-of-27 from 3-point range.
“We were a little more aggressive screen roll-wise,” Jackson said. “As a result, there wasn’t a whole lot of opportunity.”
Especially for Parker.
“The (defensive) help came faster,” Parker said. “They played better defense, but I think the key is, we didn’t match their energy.”
Manu Ginobili scored 17 points and fellow reserve Devin Brown added 16 for the Spurs, who shot 34.1 percent and committed 21 turnovers – two less than their total in the first two games.
Duncan also had 13 rebounds to lead his team to a 45-41 advantage in that department.
“I know they’re going to try and get Tony and Tim back in the game,” Payton said. “Tuesday, if we’re to win, it’s a whole different series. That’s what we’re trying to accomplish right now.”
Payton, often burned by Parker in the first two games, did a much better job in Game 3, but also got the necessary help that wasn’t there previously.
“Today we made a conscious effort to focus on (Parker),” Payton said. “We came back and played a good game today. Everybody did a good job on defense. We knew we needed a win. We came out and played the way we’re supposed to.”
Los Angeles took command by outscoring the Spurs 18-5 for a 68-45 lead late in the third quarter. It was 75-58 entering the final period. The Spurs scored five straight points to draw within 12, but the Lakers scored the next 10 to clinch the victory.
Nets 82, Pistons 64
At East Rutherford, N.J., Richard Jefferson had a career playoff-high 30 points to help New Jersey cut Detroit’s lead to 2-1 in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Kerry Kittles added 17 points and limited Chauncey Billups – who averaged 17 points in the first two games – to two points on 1-for-10 shooting. Ben Wallace had 24 rebounds and 15 points for the Pistons, who shot 22-for-76 (29 percent).
Game 4 is Tuesday night.