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Saturday, Apr. 8 8:30pm ET
Lakers' 11-game win streak snapped | |||||
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 GAME FLOW
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Without Shaquille O'Neal, the Los Angeles Lakers are mere mortals, and it showed Saturday night. With O'Neal sidelined by a sprained left ankle, Tim Duncan and David Robinson dominated the middle as the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs beat Los Angeles 98-80, snapping the Lakers' 11-game winning streak.
"It's a lot different without the big fella," said Robinson, who had 15 points and eight rebounds. "They really missed him. You could tell they were really out of sorts without him." Lakers forward Rick Fox agreed. "We haven't had to play without him, so it was strange for us," he said. "You're talking about a system that's centered around him, and we feed off it. So all of a sudden, we're asked to step in and fill the roles, and obviously, by the way we played tonight, we didn't respond to it." The Lakers lost for just the second time since the Spurs beat them 105-81 in San Antonio on Feb. 1 -- their most one-sided setback of the season. They're 30-2 since that time. Duncan had 26 points, 16 rebounds and four blocked shots as the Spurs snapped a three-game losing streak and beat the Lakers for the seventh time in eight games, including a sweep of the Western Conference finals last May. However, this victory should be accompanied by an asterisk. "We got the win, and we're pretty happy about it," Duncan said. "It goes on the record as a win. We didn't know what was going to happen until right before the game. We were prepared for him to play. Of course, it's going to be a tougher game out there if he plays." Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 26 points, eight rebounds and five assists, and Glen Rice added 17 points. "The Lakers have been pretty healthy all year, just like we were last year," said Spurs guard Avery Johnson, who had 13 points and five assists. "If we can get healthy come April 22nd, have all our bullets in our gun, we'll see what happens." O'Neal, who leads the NBA in scoring (29.5 points) and field goal percentage (.574) and is second in rebounding (13.6 average), sprained his ankle in the first half of Wednesday night's 111-104 win at Golden State. He continued to play despite the injury and had 49 points and 13 rebounds. Lakers spokesman John Black said O'Neal's ankle began bothering him Thursday. O'Neal, a virtual lock for his first Most Valuable Player award, didn't practice Friday, and X-rays showed no fracture or ligament damage. O'Neal watched the game from the Lakers' bench, but didn't speak with reporters afterward. It's possible he'll return to action Monday night against Seattle. The Lakers have already clinched the NBA's best record and homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs, so the game meant little to them. The Spurs, meanwhile, are battling for playoff position in the West with Phoenix and Minnesota. "It's one of those games you basically hate," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "If you lose, it's not only a loss, it's a horrible loss. If you win, you don't take the same satisfaction from it. "But it is a win. We take every win, no matter how we get it. And we did play well. We certainly know how good they are." The Spurs outscored Los Angeles 9-2 to start the second half, extending their lead to 63-43, and the Lakers weren't closer than 12 points after that. Terry Porter's 3-pointer as the third quarter ended made it 84-67. The Spurs held the Lakers to two points in the first 8½ minutes of the fourth quarter in pulling away. The Spurs went on a 12-2 run early in the second period to snap a 27-all tie and go ahead for good. It was 54-41 at halftime. "We really played a poor game," said Lakers coach Phil Jackson, who made it clear he wasn't concerned about O'Neal's ankle. "He's OK," Jackson said.
Game notes | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard San Antonio Clubhouse LA Lakers Clubhouse O'Neal sits out against Spurs because of sprained ankle
RECAPS Dallas 98 LA Clippers 96
San Antonio 98
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