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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- If Isaiah Rider keeps showing up on time, draining jump shots and giving props to his teammates, the Los Angeles Lakers could be even more powerful than last season.
|  | | Dale Davis, left, tries to block a shot by Shaquille O'Neal -- one of many defensive tactics employed by the Blazers. |
Shaquille O'Neal had 36 points, and Rider showed up his old
teammates in the fourth quarter as the Lakers began defense of
their title by holding off the Portland Trail Blazers 96-86 Tuesday
night.
It was a fantastic performance for Rider, whom the Lakers took a
chance on despite his numerous off-court problems in eight seasons
with Minnesota, Portland and Atlanta.
After the game, Rider was quick to thank the O'Neal for giving him so many open looks.
"I've never had a center that demands double- and
triple-teams," he said. "And then, he still gets big numbers.
It's sweet -- just sit out there, set your feet, sit on a 3. I shot
the ball real well, but I give myself a 'B' grade for the game. I
just wanted to get the ball into Shaq."
O'Neal was 14-of-20 from the field and had 11 rebounds, while
Rider was 6-for-8 with five rebounds and three assists.
Rasheed Wallace scored 26 points to lead the Blazers, and Steve
Smith had 22.
Portland's Scottie Pippen sprained his left ankle in the first
quarter and didn't return.
"It's pretty frustrating," he said. "I was all up for the game."
In the most eagerly anticipated of the 13 opening-night NBA
games, the teams failed to live up to the drama of their last
meeting, when the Blazers blew a 15-point fourth-quarter lead in
Game 7 of the Western Conference finals last June and lost 89-84.
The Lakers, who went on to beat Indiana for the championship,
committed 20 turnovers, and their sloppy play in the third quarter
let the Blazers come back to tie it at 67 heading into the fourth.
"We made a donnybrook out of that game in the third quarter by
not taking care of the ball," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said.
"But we were able to get it back in the fourth quarter. Our bench
gave us a big lift. J.R. was great tonight."
Smith's layup got the Blazers within 72-71 with 9:17 remaining,
but the Lakers ran off six straight points. Rider, signed by the
Lakers for the minimum of $700,000 after being waived by Atlanta
last season, elevated on a 13-foot jumper to give Los Angeles a
78-71 lead.
Rider nailed a 3-pointer to make it 85-77 with 3:32 left, and
his trash-talking to ex-teammate Bonzi Wells got him a technical.
Rider, booed by the sellout crowd before the game, smiled broadly
at fans after he stole the ball from Greg Anthony and got an easy
dunk.
Kobe Bryant, whose first two jumpers were wild airballs, got
into early foul trouble and finished with 14 points on 4-of-11
shooting for the Lakers.
The Blazers, who bulked up by adding Shawn Kemp and Dale Davis
specifically with the idea of stopping O'Neal, got little
production at either end of the floor from their big men. Kemp had
four points on 2-of-9 shooting and committed four fouls in just 12
minutes; Davis had two points on 1-of-4 shooting and had five fouls
to go with six rebounds.
"The big guy was his dominant self," Jackson said of O'Neal. "You can dummy through in practice whatever you want to do, but when the real guy shows up, it's an incredibly difficult task."
The Blazers opened the second quarter with a 9-0 run to take a
31-27 lead, but O'Neal went to work, scoring 13 points in the final
six minutes and hitting all five of his field goals. None of the Blazers' big bodies _ Davis, Will Perdue, Kemp or Antonio Harvey -- could stop him.
"On paper, we have a fabulous team, the best team I've ever played on," O'Neal said. "We beat a great Portland team. We realize that we are going to be in their way, and they're going to be in our way."
Davis picked up his third foul with 4:18 left in the quarter, on
a jump hook by O'Neal. His free throw started a 13-2 run to end the
period.
Two inside shots by O'Neal, followed by a driving layup from Tyronn Lue past Damon Stoudamire, gave the Lakers a 53-44 halftime
lead.
Neither team was at full strength, even before Pippen's injury.
Blazers center Arvydas Sabonis is on the injured list after having
surgery on his left knee in mid-October. Lakers reserve forward Robert Horry is in Alabama for his grandmother's funeral and won't
rejoin the team until Thursday.
Game notes
O'Neal shot just 30.4 percent from the free-throw line
during the preseason but made 8-of-16 Tuesday night. His teammates
were 11-of-14. ... Some fans had a longer-than-usual commute to the
game because Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush held
a rally at Memorial Coliseum next door to the Rose Garden, and his
motorcade didn't leave until 2½ hours before tipoff. ... Detlef Schrempf, who retired Oct. 2, is considering coming back for a 16th
NBA season. He began the season on the Blazers' injured list with a
sore neck.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
LA Lakers Clubhouse
Portland Clubhouse
Pippen day-to-day for Blazers with freak ankle injury
RECAPS
Charlotte 106
Atlanta 82
Cleveland 86
New Jersey 82
Orlando 97
Washington 86
Dallas 97
Milwaukee 93
Philadelphia 101
New York 72
Detroit 104
Toronto 95
Sacramento 100
Chicago 81
Minnesota 106
Houston 98
San Antonio 98
Indiana 85
Utah 107
LA Clippers 94
Golden State 96
Phoenix 94
LA Lakers 96
Portland 86
Vancouver 94
Seattle 88
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Shaquille O'Neal takes the inside feed and slams it down.
avi: 542 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Phil Jackson says the Lakers' bench came up big against the Blazers.
wav: 136 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Shaquille O'Neal says he is the last true center in the NBA.
wav: 197 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Mike Dunleavy says Shaq was a factor in the Blazers loss the Lakers.
wav: 136 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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