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Tuesday, Apr. 4 10:30pm ET
Horry takes over final 1:30 for Lakers | |||||
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 GAME FLOW
PHOENIX (AP) -- A game that turned into a Kevin Johnson lovefest and a Shaquille O'Neal foulfest came down to a player who has worn the uniforms of both teams. Robert Horry took over in the final 1:30, sending the Los Angeles Lakers to a 84-83 win Tuesday night over the Phoenix Suns and into the history books with their 10th victory in a row.
The Lakers became the third team in NBA history to have three winning streaks of 10 games or more in a single season. Los Angeles had 16- and 19-game streaks earlier in the season. Milwaukee did it (20, 16, 10) in 1970-71, and Philadelphia had streaks of 12, 10 and 10 wins in 1980-81. Now the Lakers have one more goal -- becoming the second team to win 70 games, which they could do by winning their last seven. "We got pretty lucky down the stretch there, because they had a couple of looks," Rick Fox said. "But when you think of a 70-win season there have to be some games where you're fortunate." O'Neal, who scored 32 points, wanted to make sure the team took care of business. "We need to focus on the big picture," O'Neal said. "If we win 70 games, fine; if not, fine." Horry played part of the 1996-97 season with Phoenix before he was traded to the Lakers after several incidents, including throwing a towel in the face of former coach Danny Ainge. But he wasn't ready to gloat after the close call. "We were very fortunate to win it," said Horry, who had 11 points and 11 rebounds. "Without Shaq, we were able to sustain the offensive push. We didn't lose any ground and we didn't gain any ground, so that's not bad." The Suns had a chance to win it, but Cliff Robinson missed a 3-pointer with 4.5 seconds left. The rebound was batted around, bounced high and wound up in O'Neal's hands. "We didn't execute all that well, but I still got a good look at it," Robinson said. "I was able to get a good shot off. It felt good, but it just didn't go." O'Neal had just one point in the fourth quarter while sitting out 5{ minutes with five fouls. A free throw by O'Neal tied the game at 80 with 1:32 to play. He missed the second shot, but Horry tipped it back out to O'Neal. Twenty-two seconds later, Horry was fouled and made both free throws for an 82-80 lead. He also rebounded a miss by Robinson and hit a 20-footer with 33 seconds to play, giving the Lakers the points they needed to survive a 3-pointer by Robinson with 22 seconds left. "We were a man short (suspended Kobe Bryant), but we gutted it out, and that's what good teams do," O'Neal said. Penny Hardaway had 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Suns, Robinson scored 20 and Johnson, making his home debut after two years away from his former team, scored 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting. "The hard things for me are believing that I'm playing basketball again and then just trying to get in good basketball shape," Johnson said. "I feel OK, but it's going to take some time." The Suns led 72-71 after a basket by Robinson 2:37 into the fourth quarter, but Rick Fox brought the Lakers from behind with two baskets and two free throws, and the Lakers led 77-72 with 5:36 to play. Phoenix regained the lead for the last time, 80-79, on two free throws by Hardaway with 1:49 to play. O'Neal carried the Lakers through a sluggish first half, scoring 23 points to lift them to a 40-39 halftime lead. Ron Harper had three baskets in the first 4:36 of the third quarter as the Lakers opened a 12-point lead, 57-45, and the Suns answered with a 13-0 run to regain the lead at 58-57, with Hardaway scoring seven points and Johnson four. But Derek Fisher hit a 3-pointer with 3:21 to go, O'Neal scored four points and Harper hit a baseline jumper for a 66-58 Los Angeles lead with 1:56 to play in the third. Game notesThe Lakers have a four-game win streak in Phoenix and have won 16 of the last 19 meetings in the series. ... Bryant and the Suns' Jason Kidd, the West's starting backcourt at the 2000 All-Star Game, could not suit up. Kidd broke his ankle March 22, and Bryant was suspended for fighting with Chris Childs of New York on Sunday. ... Johnson, who played 18 minutes against Minnesota in his first game back, entered the game with 3:05 left in the first quarter and received a standing ovation. He played 26 minutes. | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard LA Lakers Clubhouse Phoenix Clubhouse RECAPS Washington 102 New Jersey 93
LA Lakers 84
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