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Tuesday, Apr. 17 10:30pm ET
O'Neal proving Hack-a-Shaq won't work anymore

RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME FLOW

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Better forget the Hack-a-Shaq strategy in the playoffs.

The big man is making his free throws.

Derek Fisher
Los Angeles' Derek Fisher, right, tries to reel in a loose ball after hitting the floor with Denver's Terry Davis.

Shaquille O'Neal made 13 foul shots without a miss in scoring 33 points, and also had 13 rebounds Tuesday night as the Los Angeles Lakers beat undermanned Denver 108-91 to clinch the Pacific Division title.

O'Neal has made 159 of 235 free throws in the last 15 games (67.7 percent), raising his season percentage to 51.3.

"That's great, hard work pays off, and he's been working real hard at it," teammate Brian Shaw said of O'Neal's effort against the Nuggets.

O'Neal led the Lakers in scoring in each of their final 17 games. He scored 31 or more points in the last 11, and grabbed 10 or more rebounds in the last 17.

O'Neal said he didn't surprise himself with his performance at the foul line.

"I'm just glad we won the game," he said. "I've put in a lot of hard work, I've been shooting them with a lot of rhythm. I was concentrating in my pre-playoff mode."

The defending NBA champion Lakers will take a season-long eight-game winning streak into the playoffs, which begin this weekend, as well as the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, behind the San Antonio Spurs.

The Lakers will face slumping Portland, seeded seventh in the West, in the first round of the playoffs in a rematch of the conference finals of last year.

The Lakers completed the regular season with a 56-26 record, 11 games behind their 67-15 mark of a year ago, when they won their first championship in 12 years.

But they have plenty of momentum entering the postseason.

"We feel fortunate we had the opportunity to come into this position where we have home court, finish second in the conference, first in our division," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "The responsibility was up to us to do it at the end of the season."

Sacramento could finish with the same record as Los Angeles should it beat Denver in its finale Wednesday night, but the Lakers are division champions because they won the season series with the Kings 3-1.

Kobe Bryant had 26 points for the Lakers despite sitting out the fourth quarter. O'Neal left for good with 6:08 to play and the Lakers leading 96-79.

"It feels good being that you have the home-court advantage against every opponent except for San Antonio," Bryant said. "We want every title, the title that we want is at the end, though."

Raef LaFrentz led the Nuggets with 22 points and 13 rebounds. Voshon Lenard added 20 points, and Anthony Goldwire scored a season-high 18.

The Nuggets (39-42) played without Antonio McDyess, Nick Van Exel and Kevin Willis, all sidelined with injuries.

"We are overmatched when we play them with everybody healthy," Nuggets coach Dan Issel said. "We kept it close for a while. They came out in the third quarter and really picked up their defense. We had a hard time scoring in the third quarter."

The Lakers took command at the end of the second quarter and beginning of the third, outscoring Denver 25-5 for a 73-53 lead.

The Nuggets scored the last eight points of the third period to close to 11 points, but that was as close as they would get until the outcome had been decided.

O'Neal scored the Lakers' first 10 points of the fourth quarter as Los Angeles extended its lead to 90-75.

The Nuggets made five 3-point shots in the first quarter to help them take a 31-28 lead. LaFrentz, the only Denver starter averaging in double figures (12.6 points), had two 3-pointers and 13 points in the period.

It was 48-all when the game turned.

First, Mike Penberthy scored five points to spark a 9-3 Los Angeles run to finish the first half, giving the Lakers a 57-51 lead.

Then, Bryant scored eight points as part of a 16-2 spurt to start the third period.

Game notes
Lakers forward Horace Grant sat out the game because of tendinitis in his left knee. ... The Lakers' eight-game winning streak to end the season is the longest in franchise history. The previous record was six to end the 1984-85 season. ... The Lakers have won 10 consecutive home games against the Nuggets. ... The Lakers scored 100 or more points in their final seven games. ... McDyess, averaging 20.8 points and 12.1 rebounds, has a dislocated left kneecap; Van Exel, averaging 17.7 points and 8.5 assists, has a lower back strain, and Willis, averaging 9.1 points, has a jammed thumb. ... Rookie Denver center Dan McClintock had eight points and eight rebounds in his first NBA start before fouling out with 10:51 to play. ... The Lakers made 30 of 34 free throws.

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RECAPS
Toronto 94
Detroit 92

Atlanta 122
Washington 119

Miami 91
Milwaukee 89

Chicago 100
New Jersey 94

Philadelphia 111
Indiana 105

Houston 114
Minnesota 87

Utah 97
LA Clippers 92

San Antonio 99
Portland 93

LA Lakers 108
Denver 91


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