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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Things are going awfully well for the Los
Angeles Lakers these days, well enough for Shaquille O'Neal to play
a little standup comedy after their sixth straight victory.
|  | | Los Angeles' Shaquille O'Neal reaches for a rebound aginst Orlando's Pat Garrity, right. |
Playing increased minutes under first-year coach Phil Jackson
this season, O'Neal burned his former team with 27 points, 10
rebounds and seven assists as the Lakers beat the Orlando Magic
117-100 Sunday night.
O'Neal played 39 minutes before leaving the game for good with
seven minutes left and the Lakers leading 103-81.
"I'm the Donna Summer of the NBA, I work hard for the money,"
he said with a smile, drawing laughs from reporters. "The more I
play, the more numbers I can put up, the quicker I can get my
(contract) extension."
O'Neal is averaging 38 minutes, but has played over 40 on
several occasions in tight games.
"We're doing OK, (but) we've still got 70 games left (actually
64)," O'Neal said. "The sky's the limit for this team. We're
playing pretty good defense, we're playing good team ball now.
That's what it's going to take."
O'Neal, who played four seasons for the Magic before signing a
free-agent contract with the Lakers in July 1996, made 11-of-16
field goal attempts and 5-of-11 free throws. He fell one short of
his career high in assists.
Glen Rice added 24 points and Derek Fisher scored 14 of his 16
in the first quarter for the Lakers, who went ahead for good in the
opening four minutes.
"I think the defense is the main reason we're playing so well
and winning," said Rice, who made 7-of-13 field goal attempts
including 2-of-4 from 3-point range along with all eight of his
foul shots.
"It feels good to go out there and sort of get the monkey off
my back," he said. "I haven't been shooting that well."
Kobe Bryant, playing his third game since returning to action
after spending seven weeks on the sidelines because of a broken
right hand, added 15 points in 26 minutes.
Darrell Armstrong, held scoreless for the first 17 minutes, led
Orlando with 20 points and nine assists. Pat Garrity added 16
points and John Amaechi scored 14 for the Magic, which had their
three-game road winning streak snapped.
"The Lakers are a really good team, they might be the best team
we've played this year so far," Magic coach Doc Rivers said.
"This is a new system they're playing, and the ringleader in that
whole thing is Shaq. To me, he's just playing lights-out basketball
and is clearly the MVP right now."
Fisher, averaging 9.9 points beforehand, made three 3-pointers
in the first five minutes as the Lakers took a 13-8 lead, and his
three-point play made it 24-12.
O'Neal, meanwhile, was held scoreless for nearly six minutes,
but had eight points, five rebounds and three assists by the end of
the opening period, which ended with the Lakers leading 34-19.
The Lakers led by as many as 22 points in the second quarter
before settling for a 67-49 halftime lead. The Magic weren't closer
than 13 points after that. It was 92-72 entering the final period.
Game notes
O'Neal said facing his former team no longer means anything
special because all his former teammates there are gone except
Armstrong. "I've been removed from them 1,300 days," O'Neal said
before the game. ... Armstrong went 6-of-6 from the foul line and
has now made 42 straight free throws. The Orlando franchise record
is 50 by Reggie Theus in the 1989-90 season. ... The Lakers held
their previous five opponents to 85 points or fewer -- the first
time they had accomplished such a feat since March 1954. ... Lakers
forward Rick Fox tore a tendon in his left ring finger in the
second quarter, but played in the second half. A right-hander, Fox
will wear a splint for about six weeks. He had nine points and
seven rebounds. ... The Lakers outrebounded the Magic 44-36, and
are now 12-0 when outrebounding the opposition. Oddly, Orlando lost
for the first time when being outrebounded, falling to 6-1 in that
situation.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Orlando Clubhouse
LA Lakers Clubhouse
RECAPS
Toronto 98
San Antonio 92
Charlotte 103
Seattle 81
Milwaukee 103
Dallas 97
Denver 80
New York 78
Portland 92
Phoenix 90
LA Lakers 117
Orlando 100
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