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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- One night after their biggest win of the
season, the Los Angeles Lakers almost got caught napping.
|  | | First rule of defense, Derek Fisher: Never leave your feet for a Brent Price pump fake. |
"We were somnambulant out there," Lakers coach Phil Jackson
said after the Lakers used a flurry of 3-point shots late in the
third quarter to get past the Vancouver Grizzlies 103-91 Wednesday
night. "It took Fox, Horry, Bryant and Shaw to break it loose."
It was the 13th consecutive victory for the Lakers, who beat the
Portland Trail Blazers a night earlier in a matchup of the teams
with the two best records in the NBA.
Brian Shaw, Robert Horry, Rick Fox and Kobe Bryant hit
consecutive 3-pointers in the final 2:10 of the third quarter as
the Lakers came from a point down to gain a 77-69 lead and take
control.
Bryant scored 27 points and Shaquille O'Neal had 25 points, 17
rebounds, five assists and five blocks before fouling out with 2:43
remaining and the Lakers up 95-86.
O'Neal said the Lakers' near-miss wasn't necessarily because of
their win at Portland 24 hours earlier.
"I wouldn't say it was a letdown, but we're probably never
going to get up for Vancouver like we get up for Portland, New York
and Indiana," he said. "That's just human nature."
Bryant thought the Lakers were simply tired.
"It was pretty hard tonight because physically, our legs were
heavy," Bryant said. "Everybody on the bench was saying, 'My legs
are killing me.' It was one of those games where we were a step
slower.
"We could not lose just because everybody wasn't feeling 100
percent. Then Shaq went out and that was even more of a challenge
for us to step up."
Bryant did just that, scoring eight of the Lakers' last 10
points to keep Vancouver at bay.
The Grizzlies, who have beaten the Lakers only once in the 18
games the teams have played, kept it close and were up 66-65 when
O'Neal drew his fifth foul and went to the bench late in the third
quarter. But then the Lakers went on their 3-point binge.
Michael Dickerson and Shareef Abdur-Rahim each had 18 for
Vancouver, and Othella Harrington had 17.
"You have to give the Lakers credit," Vancouver coach Lionel
Hollins said. "They did a good job defensively against us. When
Shaq went out, their defensive intensity picked up and they put on
a little more pressure, really came after us.
"It was just a game where they took control at the end of the
third quarter."
The Lakers had beaten Portland 90-87 in a game that matched
teams with 11-game winning streaks for the first time in NBA
history.
Los Angeles earlier had a 16-game winning streak, the NBA's
longest this season. That string ended with a loss at Indianapolis
on Jan. 14.
In the surprisingly tight game against the Grizzlies, the
Lakers' eight-point edge at the end of the third quarter was the
biggest lead by either team to that point.
The biggest difference in the first half was six, with Los
Angeles holding a 34-28 lead with 7:29 left in the second quarter.
Vancouver took a 46-47 lead on Mike Bibby's 12-foot jumper 14
seconds before halftime, but Bryant drove and threw up an awkward
shot that went in off the glass with a half-second remaining to
give the Lakers the lead.
Game notes
The game also was Vancouver's second in as many nights. The
Lakers are 13-2 in back-to-back games, and the Grizzlies are 7-9.
... The Grizzlies have never beaten the Lakers in Los Angeles,
going 0-10. ... Jackson was the NBA's coach of the month and O'Neal
was the player of the month for February. "That's usually a
reflection of the team's record, and is really a tribute to the
team," Jackson said. Los Angeles was 12-1 during the month. ...
Two of the other three seasons the Lakers had double-digit winning
streaks during a season, in 1986-87 and 1987-88, they went on to
win the NBA title. Lakers forward A.C. Green was a member of both
those teams.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Vancouver Clubhouse
LA Lakers Clubhouse
RECAPS
Toronto 96
Boston 94
Washington 102
Atlanta 83
Utah 107
Detroit 94
New Jersey 94
Denver 81
LA Lakers 103
Vancouver 91
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