Saturday, June 08, 2002
Lakers 106, Nets 83
By JOHN NADEL
AP Sports Writer
![[img]](http://enquirer.com/editions/2002/06/08/shaq_150x200.jpg)
Lakers' Shaquille O'Neal goes to the glass.
(AP photo)
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LOS ANGELES — Too much Shaq. That's really all there is to it.
Oh, the Los Angeles Lakers have Kobe Bryant and a bunch of competent role players who have done their part against the New Jersey Nets.
But Shaquille O'Neal, the self-professed “Superman,” has shrugged off his painful arthritic right big toe to really sock it to the Nets.
“You know, he's a monster,” New Jersey coach Byron Scott said after O'Neal had 40 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists as the Lakers beat the Nets 106-83 on Friday night for a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals, moving them within two wins of a three-peat.
O'Neal had 36 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks in his team's 99-94 win in Game 1.
“I don't know what to do against him right now,” Scott said. “The second half, we doubled him a little bit. He kicked it out, got other guys involved. They knocked down shots. Now we have to hold serve.”
The series shifts to New Jersey — just a few miles from O'Neal's hometown of Newark — for Game 3 on Sunday night.
Since the NBA adopted a 2-3-2 format in 1985, no home team has ever swept the three middle games.
“That's what we're faced with, that's what we're up against,” Scott said.
The way O'Neal has been playing, that seems highly unlikely.
In fact, if the Nets don't find a way to slow the big man down, a fifth game in the best-of-seven series might not be needed.
“Can't do nothing with him, can't do anything,” said Bryant, who had 24 points and eight rebounds. “He's like Wilt, Kareem, Jordan, all those other guys. But Shaq is so dominant, he'll shoot 55 percent on an off-night. He's just going to demoralize the team.”
O'Neal shot 14-of-23 and a stunning 12-of-14 at the free-throw line, where he's become a deadeye in the postseason.
“He's seemed to gather energy during the playoffs,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. “You know, that's been the remarkable part of it, that he's energized by the playoffs. That was his show.”
Only two teams in NBA Finals history have come back from an 0-2 hole — Boston in 1969 over the Lakers and Portland in 1977 over Philadelphia. The Nets need to win four of the remaining five games, should it go that far, to accomplish the feat.
And they need to do it against a team that has six straight finals wins to equal the all-time record set by the Houston Rockets in 1994-95.
The Lakers were 9-1 favorites when the series began.
No telling what the odds are now.
“We've got to keep our head high and be positive because there's a big game coming on Sunday,” said New Jersey's Jason Kidd, who was held scoreless in the first half before finishing with 17 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. “If we win that one, maybe we might give them a little scare.”
And if they don't?
“There is no way in the world if we get three games on them that they can come back and win,” Lakers forward Robert Horry said.
History backs him up — no team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win an NBA playoff series.
O'Neal was at his best in the first three quarters, scoring 36 points before taking a seat with 1:45 left in the third period and the Lakers leading 77-57 following a 12-0 run in which he scored six points.
With O'Neal watching from the bench, the Nets outscored the Lakers 15-2 before he returned with 9:43 remaining.
Order was quickly restored. After the Nets got within six points twice, the Lakers went on a 23-6 run to finish them.
“That game was dedicated to Rick Adelman,” said O'Neal, annoyed the Sacramento Kings coach said in a television interview Thursday that O'Neal routinely commits lane violations when shooting free throws.
Adelman also said he wasn't convinced that the Lakers, who beat the Kings 112-106 in overtime last Sunday in Game 7 of the thrilling Western Conference finals, were better than his team.
“Can't I go one day without somebody saying something negative about me? So that's for those who question me,” O'Neal said. “I was upset today.”
He played like it.
“Now, we got two,” O'Neal said. “We know this team's not going to give up. First one to four.”
The Lakers, who led for all but 59 seconds of Game 1, were on top all the way in Game 2.
Kerry Kittles led the Nets with 23 points despite sitting out 10 1/2 minutes in the first half after tweaking his ankle.
Notes: The Nets got off to another woeful start, shooting 15-of-49 (30.6 percent) in the first half, but trailed by only six because they won the rebounding battle 27-19, made seven more free throws than the Lakers and committed four fewer turnovers. ... The Lakers outrebounded New Jersey 28-16 after halftime for a 47-43 overall edge. The Nets had 15 offensive rebounds in the first half but only five in the second. ... Nets guard Lucious Harris, who grew up in Los Angeles, shot 1-of-14 in the first two games including 0-of-9 in Game 2. ... The Lakers shot 39-of-78 (50 percent) — their best effort of the postseason, while the Nets went 30-of-86 (34.9 percent). ... The margin of victory was the Lakers' largest of the postseason. The previous high was 10 points — 99-89 over San Antonio in Game 3 of the conference semifinals when they outscored the Spurs 13-1 to finish the game.
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![[img]](http://enquirer.com/editions/2002/06/08/shaq_zoom.jpg)
Lakers 106, Nets 83
