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NBA briefs

Compiled from Times wires

© St. Petersburg Times, published March 4, 2001

Lakers slow it down, lean on Shaq for win

VANCOUVER -- The Lakers ditched their running game and went to Shaquille O'Neal.

O'Neal scored 34 and grabbed 13 rebounds Saturday as the Lakers beat the Grizzlies 98-88 before 19,193 fans, the first sellout of the season in Vancouver.

"We have a semi-old team," O'Neal said. "We don't have a young team no more. And most teams we play are younger. We have to be smarter. We're like a young Utah."

O'Neal was 13-for-19 from the field and 8-of-12 from the line as the Lakers swept the four-game season series that included a controversial 113-112 victory in Los Angeles when O'Neal rebounded a miss and scored at the buzzer Jan. 15.

The Grizzlies shot 39.1 percent.

"Obviously, Vancouver had some trouble shooting the ball today," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "They had a lot of shots in the first half and too much pace on the ball, so we had to slow it down a little bit in the second half. In doing so, we got Shaq some good looks and he finished."

In his second game since returning from a sprained right ankle, Kobe Bryant had 20 points but committed seven turnovers. Horace Grant finished with 15 points and 15 rebounds, and the Lakers improved to 38-19.

"When they double-team Shaq and Kobe, they just hit me with the ball and I'm wide open and they basically don't rotate to me," Grant said. "If I have open shots, more than likely I'll hit it."

The Grizzlies were led by Michael Dickerson's 22 points. Eric Strickland had 13 and Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf 12.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Mike Bibby scored a combined 16 on 8-for-31 shooting as Vancouver lost its sixth straight.

Abdur-Rahim was ejected after drawing his second technical foul with 1:44 remaining and the Grizzlies trailing 94-83. He finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds but did not go to the line.

"Without actually trying to slight the officials, he should have gotten to the foul line more this afternoon than he did, especially a player of his caliber," said Grizzlies forward Grant Long of Abdur-Rahim's frustration.

League warns Garnett

Kevin Garnett received a warning about the league's tampering policy for saying he wants Joe Smith of Detroit to return to the Timberwolves.

Stu Jackson, the NBA senior vice president of basketball operations, called Garnett on Friday. He asked the Minnesota forward to refrain from such comments about Smith, who becomes a free agent this summer. Under tampering rules, no player, coach or management person may entice a player under contract to another team to play for his team.

"Everybody wants him back," Garnett said Wednesday. "We'll start a campaign. I'll be the leader."

ROCKETS: Guard Cuttino Mobley missed Saturday night's game against the Mavericks with a strained right ankle. Mobley, averaging 19.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.12 steals in 57 games, also sat out Thursday's game at Milwaukee. The team lists him as day-to-day.

TODAY ON TV/RADIO: Knicks at Raptors, 12:30, Ch. 8; Magic at Pistons, 3, WWBA-AAM 1040.

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