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Sunday, Mar. 5 6:00pm ET
Lakers beat Heat for 15th straight win | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Now everything is going the Lakers' way. Glen Rice, the only player struggling during the team's winning streak, found his game with 23 points and a season-high 10 rebounds as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Miami Heat 93-80 Sunday for their 15th consecutive victory.
"I had pretty much made my mind up that I was going to come out and be aggressive going to the hole and be aggressive with my shot," he said. "I'm always putting a lot of pressure on myself when I'm not playing up to my capabilities and not hitting the shots that I know I can hit." The Lakers are just the third team in NBA history to record two winning streaks of 14 games or more in a season. They won 16 in a row during December and January, and it seems likely they'll equal that mark against the lowly Clippers on Monday night. "We just wanted to continue our dominance at home and beat the teams we're supposed to beat," said Shaquille O'Neal, who added 17 points and 11 rebounds. Kobe Bryant had 15 points and Ron Harper 14 points as four Los Angeles starters scored in double figures. Bryant said Rice told him before the game that he was ready to go. "I knew he was going to come out and do his thing. He was just ready to be aggressive, even more assertive," Bryant said. "He was able to find his spots a little bit better. He's just starting to get his offensive rhythm back." Miami's Alonzo Mourning returned after missing three games with a sore left ankle and had 21 points and nine rebounds, but was limited by five fouls. Jamal Mashburn added 17 points. Miami's other three starters -- P.J. Brown, Tim Hardaway and Dan Majerle -- combined for just 14 points, with Brown fouling out. The Lakers' defense held the Heat to 41.7 percent field-goal shooting. "We missed some shots and we turned the ball over, simple as that," Mashburn said. "They came down and got some shots and made shots." Rice came in against his former team without scoring in double figures for three straight games, a first in his 88-game Lakers career. But his struggles disappeared in the opening quarter when he scored 13 points and Los Angeles shot a blistering 75 percent to take a 14-point lead. "They had a great, great first quarter, got us back on our heels and we just never could regroup," Heat coach Pat Riley said. "They've gone beyond the point of gaining respect. What they do now is put some fear into you. If you don't attack and come to play, then they'll have you back on your heels the whole night." The well-rested Heat, which hadn't played since Thursday, cut their deficit to single digits when Mashburn scored six of their eight points at the beginning of the second quarter. But Miami found mostly frustration in the period, even as the Lakers' shooting cooled to 25 percent. Mourning picked up his third foul, as did Majerle, and the Heat trailed 57-40 at halftime. "We didn't come out to a quick start," Mourning said. "We started off kind of slow and they jumped out and scored 37 points in that first quarter. That's unacceptable defensively. We just pretty much dug a hole for ourselves trying to play catchup." Miami never made a serious run in the second half and wasn't able to get within single digits the rest of the game. Two free throws by Rice put the Heat down by 18 again before they scored the final six points of the third quarter to trail 72-60. In the fourth quarter, Brown fouled out and Mourning's offensive foul was his fifth.
Game notes | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Miami Clubhouse LA Lakers Clubhouse RECAPS Utah 88 New York 79
LA Lakers 93
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