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Shaq powers Lakers' victory

Has 44 points, 21 rebounds as L.A. holds off Kings 108-105 for 1-0 lead.

Compiled from Times wires

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 7, 2001

LOS ANGELES -- The Kings gave Shaquille O'Neal a little more room to roam than most teams do, and they paid for it.

O'Neal was at his dominating best with 44 points, 21 rebounds and seven blocked shots Sunday as the defending NBA champion Lakers held off the Kings 108-105 to begin their second-round Western Conference playoff series.

Kobe Bryant scored 29, and the rest of the Lakers combined for 35.

In the end, it didn't matter, even though the Kings were in contention the entire game.

"They were staying with Foxy, they were staying with Fish," Bryant said, referring to the Kings guarding Rick Fox and Derek Fisher. "That opened up the entire middle for Shaq to operate."

O'Neal, who had 13 of his team's 24 points and nine of its 16 rebounds in the fourth quarter, said his teammates were looking for him.

"They were not doubling me, so I just tried to take the high-percentage shots," he said. "Close to the basket, I'm going to take those shots all night. ... Whatever they throw at me, I'll be ready. They're probably going to double me a little more quickly."

O'Neal, who made 17 of 32 shots and 10 of 19 free throws, also had five of his 11 offensive rebounds in the final quarter.

"Shaq saved the day time and again by getting all those offensive rebounds," the Lakers' Brian Shaw said. "They're going to have to figure out a way to combat that."

Kings coach Rick Adelman said as much.

"The guy is unbelievable," Adelman said. "He's big, he's strong, he's quick. He really has learned how to play to his physical talents.

"I'm more concerned about the amount of holding and grabbing Rick Fox did on Predrag (Stojakovic)."

Guarded mainly by Fox, Stojakovic made only 6 of 18 shots and scored 20 points.

Coming off a first-round sweep of Portland, the Lakers extended their season-high winning streak to 12 games -- eight to finish the regular season and four in the playoffs. They haven't lost since April 1.

The Kings, who trailed the entire fourth quarter, scored six straight in the final minutes, capped by a jumper by Chris Webber with 24.1 seconds left to cut the Lakers' lead to 103-101.

Fisher made one of his two free throws less than a second later, O'Neal blocked a driving layup by Jason Williams five seconds after that and Bryant made four free throws to clinch the victory. Stojakovic's layup at the final buzzer completed the scoring.

Webber led Sacramento with a career playoff-high 34 points.

GAME 2: At Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, TBS.

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