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 GAME FLOW
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Michael Jordan enjoyed a victory cigar and
sounded like a proud father. Phil Jackson used words like
"dismantling" and "aberration." An ambilivant Shaquille O'Neal
said the Washington Wizards were just plain lucky.
It was, in fact, a stunning upset that ended the fourth-longest
winning streak in NBA history. The Wizards, who had won only 20
games all season, stopped the Lakers' bid to win 20 in a row with
Thursday night's 109-102 victory.
"We feel like we're not supposed to lose any game," Lakers
forward Glen Rice said. "And tonight we didn't play up to that
ability."
|  | | The Lakers' Kobe Bryant tries to break up a pass by Washington's Rod Strickland. |
In their most spirited performance in two years --before a crowd
that frequently cheered wildly for the visitors -- the Wizards took
a 21-point lead in the second quarter and held on after the Lakers
rallied to tie it in the fourth.
"I'm proud with the way they played," said Jordan, Wizards
part-owner and president of basketball operations, attending his
first game in three weeks. "But it's always disappointing when
they come back the next game and not play with the same intensity
against a team that doesn't have the same magnitude as the
Lakers."
Which means Jordan is already thinking about Saturday's game
against his old team, the Chicago Bulls. What if the Wizards don't
win that one?
"I may send in my resignation," said Jordan, laughing.
Mitch Richmond scored 32 points, Juwan Howard had 14 and Rod
Strickland had a season-high 16 assists as the Wizards' big three
had a rare game in which they played like their former All-Star
selves.
"Mitch played big. Rod played the way Rod would two years ago.
Juwan was as solid as ever in the post," Washington coach Darrell
Walker said. "Everybody was on all cylinders tonight."
Walker decided not to double-team O'Neal, who was fouled
mercilessly throughout. O'Neal had 40 points and 12 rebounds and
made 10 of 16 free throws. But he also was plagued by foul trouble,
as was Kobe Bryant, who fouled out in the game's final second with
seven points on 2-for-10 shooting.
"We knew Shaq was going to score 40 points," Walker said, "so
we just focused on the other guys."
O'Neal, however, said the Wizards weren't any different from the
team the Lakers beat easily earlier this season.
"No, they got lucky," said O'Neal, who missed five of his
first six shots while nursing a sore hamstring. "They beat us in
the first half, and we beat ourselves in the second half."
The Wizards did get some luck in the final minute. Leading
101-98, Richmond forced a jumper that barely scraped the rim. The
ball fell right in Howard's hands, giving the Wizards a new
24-second clock.
Richmond was then fouled and made two free throws with 17.1
seconds remaining. The Wizards went 6-for-6 from the line after
that to keep the margin safe.
The Lakers' 19 straight victories trailed only the 1971-72
Lakers (33), the 1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks (20) and the 1947-48 and
1948-49 Washington Capitols (20) among the NBA's longest streaks.
"It's better (the end) came against a team like the Wizards
instead of New York or Miami," Bryant said. "We don't want to
give those guys the confidence."
Despite their struggles, the Wizards recently took the Knicks
and Spurs to overtime, prompting Lakers coach Jackson to warn
before the game the Washington was a "team that plays up to the
level of the competition."
But the crowd wasn't expecting the upset and was positively
schizophrenic. The fans cheered more for the Lakers than the
Wizards early on, then roared for the underdogs when Washington
took the big lead in the second quarter. Then, as Los Angeles
rallied in the fourth, the MCI Center reverberated with the chant:
"Let's go Lakers!" In the final minute, the chant became "Beat
L.A."
The Wizards took command with a 23-3 first-quarter run that
almost defied belief. Richmond and Howard were clicking. Washington
shot 64 percent in the quarter and committed only one turnover. The
Lakers became rattled, making bad passes, bad shots and going more
than 6½ minutes without a field goal.
"That first half was an aberration as far as I'm concerned,"
said Jackson, Jordan's former coach in Chicago. "We had a good
dismantling. We made a run at them, then Richmond got going and
that made it difficult for us."
Down 64-45 at halftime, the Lakers began to rally in the third
quarter. O'Neal set the tone on the first possession, blocking
Jahidi White's shot and drawing a foul at the other end to start a
15-4 run.
Glen Rice then got hot, going 5-for-7 in the period. Howard and
Richmond scored only two points apiece in the third as the Lakers
closed to 82-73 to start the fourth.
Rice's three-point play and a 3-pointer tied the game at 85 with
7:54 to play. Richmond then found his range again, hitting
back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Wizards back on top for good.
Game notes
Before the game, Jackson said he didn't sense any special
emphasis from his players on winning 20 in a row. In fact, he said
they had their minds on other games. "The NCAA Tournament," he
said. "I'm trying to get them to focus back on professional ball
for tonight." ... The Wizards notched season highs for most points
in the first quarter (36) and first half (64).
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
LA Lakers Clubhouse
Washington Clubhouse
RECAPS
Washington 109
LA Lakers 102
Utah 107
Cleveland 86
Miami 92
Philadelphia 77
Milwaukee 106
Houston 96
Dallas 110
San Antonio 88
Minnesota 96
Portland 92
Seattle 117
Vancouver 103
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Shaq says the Lakers had an off-day.
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