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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Shaquille O'Neal says his right foot is still
sore.
|  | | Shaquille O'Neal had perhaps his best game of the season Sunday, with 37 points, 19 rebounds, six assists and five blocks. |
Try selling that to the Orlando Magic.
O'Neal was at his dominating best Sunday with 37 points, 19
rebounds, six assists and five blocked shots in 42 minutes as the
Los Angeles Lakers rallied for a 106-100 victory over the Magic.
It was O'Neal's eighth game back since he missed six prior to
the All-Star break due to a strained right arch.
"Yeah, a lot, but I just saddle up," O'Neal said when asked if
his foot still bothers him.
"There's a reason why Shaq was MVP last year," Orlando rookie
Mike Miller observed.
The win was the fourth in a row and ninth in 11 games for the
Lakers, who played without Kobe Bryant, the NBA's second-leading
scorer, for the third straight game due to a sprained right ankle.
By winning, the Lakers (37-18) moved within one-half game of
Portland and Utah, who are a Western Conference-leading 20 games
over .500.
Brian Shaw added 20 points and seven rebounds and Rick Fox
scored 17 points for the Lakers, who won despite making only 29 of
a season-high 53 foul shots.
"Well, that was a marathon out there, 53 free throws," Lakers
coach Phil Jackson said. "I can't remember when I have ever seen
that many, at least since I've been coaching."
O'Neal, who scored 17 of the Lakers' 26 points in the third
quarter, was 14-of-20 from the floor and 9-of-21 from the foul
line.
In trying to contain O'Neal, the Magic used four players at
center -- Andrew LaClercq, Don Reid, John Amaechi and Michael Doleac
-- by the start of the second period.
Not much worked.
"He carried us," Shaw said of O'Neal.
Shaw certainly did his share filling in for Bryant. Two nights
earlier, in a 113-106 victory over Atlanta, Shaw scored a
season-high 22 points.
"It's about time that my shots started coming back around," he
said. "It's unfortunate that Harp (Ron Harper) and Kobe are out
right now, but I am just trying to take what's there for me. I am
trying to get a nice little rhythm and keep everything together
until they get back."
Tracy McGrady had 25 points, eight rebounds and eight assists,
and Miller had 19 points and eight rebounds for the Magic, who lost
their third straight following a franchise record-equaling
nine-game winning streak.
McGrady was held scoreless in the fourth quarter, missing his
three shots.
"I did what I can do, they were doubling me, and I moved the
ball," he said. "We came down, took quick shots, they came down
and gave the ball to the big fella. There's just nothing we could
do about that."
The Lakers scored the final four points of the third quarter and
went on a 14-3 run to start the final period to take an 85-79 lead
with 8:13 remaining. Fox and Tyronn Lue capped the spurt with
3-point shots.
The Magic drew within two points before Shaw made three straight
baskets to put the Lakers ahead 94-86 with 3:55 left.
Two straight jumpers by Doleac, who scored 12 points, drew the
Magic within four before O'Neal made a foul shot with 1:30 left.
Darrell Armstrong's layin with 1:11 to play drew Orlando within
three, but O'Neal's baseline jumper with 53.2 seconds to go and
Shaw's two foul shots with 36.9 seconds remaining clinched the
victory.
"We panicked a little bit in the stretch," Magic coach Doc
Rivers said. "Shaq scored about 10 points when we should have
fouled him. We're not big enough to play him in the half court."
The Magic led 60-51 early in the third period before the Lakers
scored nine straight points -- six by O'Neal -- to tie the game.
McGrady's three-point play triggered a 16-7 run that put Orlando
on top 76-67. It was at that stage that the Lakers came alive.
Game notes
Armstrong just missed a triple double with 15 points, 10
rebounds and eight assists. ... Referee Jess Kersey partially tore
his left Achilles' tendon late in the first quarter. Derek
Richardson joined the other officials, Hugh Evans and George
Toliver, at the start of the second half. ... Jackson wouldn't
speculate as to when Bryant will play again. The Lakers return to
action Wednesday night at Denver. ... Orlando's Pat Garrity, who
underwent arthroscopic surgery last Tuesday, might play as soon as
Friday night against Cleveland, Rivers said. ... O'Neal missed his
first five free throws before swishing a pair early in the second
quarter, drawing cheers from the sellout crowd of 18,997 at Staples
Center.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Orlando Clubhouse
LA Lakers Clubhouse
Bryant sits out third straight game with ankle injury
RECAPS
New York 88
Sacramento 86
Indiana 110
Minnesota 100
Phoenix 90
Utah 80
LA Lakers 106
Orlando 100
Milwaukee 122
Golden State 95
Cleveland 101
Detroit 94
New Jersey 101
Washington 91
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