CHICAGO -- If his first punch had connected, Shaquille O'Neal would be facing a far harsher penalty.
|  | | A teammate keeps Shaquille O'Neal from charging Brad Miller a second time. |
After years and years of being on the receiving end of the
Hack-a-Shaq defense, O'Neal finally snapped Saturday night when he
was fouled hard by Brad Miller and Charles Oakley of the Chicago
Bulls.
O'Neal immediately went after Miller and threw two roundhouse
punches while Miller had his back turned. The first punch was the
most ferocious, and fortunately it missed. The second one connected
before O'Neal and Miller fell to the floor and a full-scale melee
broke out.
"He lands one of those, and I feel sorry for the guy he
connects with," Bulls rookie Tyson Chandler said. "Going through
a whole year, that dude gets fouled a lot, and people intentionally
foul him. I'm surprised he keeps his composure as much as he
does."
O'Neal will likely have quite a while to regain his composure
and ponder the error of his ways. The NBA was reviewing the fight
Sunday, and a multi-game suspension seemed likely.
A year ago, Marcus Camby of the New York Knicks was suspended
five games for throwing a sucker punch at Danny Ferry of the San Antonio Spurs.
Throwing a punch of any kind carries an automatic one-game
suspension.
"I'm just glad that I moved my head at the last second for no
reason," Miller said. "Anybody who comes at you from behind, you
have to wonder about him. I was just glad we picked up Oakley over
the summer because I knew if I got into something he'd have my
back. He saved me from a shattered jaw at least."
The Lakers went on to lose the game 106-104 in overtime, giving
them their third two-game losing streak of the season.
They now return home for games against the Memphis Grizzlies and the Miami Heat before
playing San Antonio next Saturday for the first time this season.
Whether O'Neal will be available remains to be seen.
Before the game, O'Neal seemed bemused that Oakley had said he
would not back down from the 7-foot, 340-pound center. And as the
game progressed, it was clear that Oakley was keeping his word.
Nearly every time that O'Neal got the ball in the low post,
Oakley or Miller fouled him hard. O'Neal responded to one hard foul
by whacking Miller in the face with his forearm.
On the play that led to the fight, Oakley and Miller both
hammered O'Neal after he caught a pass.
"You can't hit him softly because he's just going to flick you
off like a little fly. Just to bump him is doing nothing. You've
got to wrap him up and put him on the free-throw line," Miller
said.
Miller emerged from the pileup shirtless, and lead referee Danny
Crawford said a security guard had pulled it off Miller because he
was being choked by it when O'Neal refused to let go.
Miller said his arm and chest had scratches and cuts. Oakley
emerged unscathed, but Crawford said he joined the fight as a
participant, not a peacemaker, which also could lead to a
suspension.
O'Neal did not speak to reporters after the game.
"That was quite a calamity out there," Lakers coach Phil
Jackson said. "We continually warned the referees that they were
playing too rough. I hold those officials responsible for not
taking control of this game earlier."
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L.A. Lakers vs. Chicago
