ducks
12-26-2005, 03:28 PM
Former L.A. guard scores 21, stops Kobe, talks trash
By Ross Siler, Staff Writer
Inside SOCAL
MIAMI - They are more than Christmas showdowns now, more like ferocious one-game playoff battles between the Lakers and Miami Heat, with the words exchanged leaving almost as bitter feelings as the close losses.
For the third time since trading away Shaquille O'Neal, the Lakers lost to the Heat, faltering in the final minute Sunday and watching a potential tying 3-pointer by Kobe Bryant come up short with 2.9 seconds left.
The final score was 97-92 at American Airlines Arena, but Lakers forward Lamar Odom had a parting shot to send afterward. It was directed at former Lakers guard Gary Payton, who spent much of the afternoon in Odom's ear.
Odom, rarely agitated, called Payton "extremely disrespectful" four times and suggested the notorious trash-talker watch "how he talks to other men."
"It's dudes like that, that's why things happen off the court between players and their friends and things like that." Odom said, later adding, "His mouth is horrible, atrocious."
Said Payton: "You know the young ones that got the hot tempers."
Odom's words were sure to give this saga involving Bryant, O'Neal, Phil Jackson and Pat Riley another subplot, not that it was necessary. The game itself was extraordinary from start to finish, with Bryant playing every minute of the second half and 44:17 in all.
Bryant finished with 37 points on 12-of-30 shooting but missed all eight 3-pointers he took and seemed to wear down in the fourth quarter. The surest sign came as he went to the line and uncharacteristically clanked two free throws with six minutes remaining.
"I thought it was mostly about his legs," Jackson said, "but he played a magnificent game."
The Lakers couldn't take control as Dwyane Wade spent nearly the entire third quarter on the bench after picking up his fourth foul. But they fought back from as many as eight points down in the fourth quarter as O'Neal returned for the last 7 1/2 minutes.
It all set up a furious finish, with the Lakers taking a 92-91 lead after Odom made one of two free throws with 1:29 left. It would be their last points of the afternoon.
At the other end, James Posey missed a 3-pointer for the Heat, but O'Neal pulled down the rebound, shoving Chris Mihm out of the way in Jackson's estimation. O'Neal then dumped the ball to an open Payton for a 3-pointer.
Payton tormented the Lakers throughout the game and finished with a team-high 21 points, making 9 of 11 shots. He also guarded Bryant, 10 years his junior, for much of the afternoon with Wade in foul trouble.
"Gary has that in him," O'Neal said. "He was out there playing and talking. He was being 'The Glove' that we all know."
With the Lakers needing a basket, Odom missed a wide-open, go-ahead 3-pointer with 41.9 seconds left. It was a shot Odom - who was 0 for 5 from long range - acknowledged he had to make.
"A shot was missed because a shot was missed," Odom said. "Not because (Payton) was talking or because I'm thinking about him."
The Lakers nearly watched Wade throw away the ball trying to find Udonis Haslem inside. But Wade got off a 19-footer after an inbounds play a tick before the shot clock expired.
Once again, the Lakers couldn't get the rebound they needed and Wade wound up at the foul line, hitting one of two free throws to make it 95-92 with 12.1 seconds left.
The Lakers wanted Odom to drive to the basket on their last-chance play, but he gave up the ball to Luke Walton, who then put it in Bryant's hands. Bryant launched a 3-pointer with Payton giving chase that hit the front rim.
It was eerily similar to last Christmas, when Bryant missed a 3-pointer that would have given the Lakers an overtime victory.
There was more to come this season as Odom and Payton jawed at each other while leaving the court.
"They're both chatterboxes out there and they had their little rift going on between each other," Jackson said.
There was a similarly tough exchange in the third quarter as Bryant caught Wade with an elbow cutting across the lane. Wade responded by shoving his forearm into Bryant's midsection, drawing his fourth personal with a flagrant foul.
The Lakers opened up a 70-65 lead as Brian Cook made four jumpers in the quarter, but gave it all back before the start of the fourth. After watching the Lakers struggle with Bryant on the bench in the first half, Jackson figured he couldn't sit his star guard.
As these meetings continue, O'Neal and Bryant continue to acknowledge each other less and less. They exchanged the briefest of hugs last Christmas, then couldn't connect on a fist bump before tip-off when the two teams met March 17.
There wasn't even that much Sunday. O'Neal did not take part in the captains meeting and took his place for the opening tip without even a nod in Bryant's direction. O'Neal did hug Odom and slap hands with Cook and Mihm.
For his part, Bryant said the day before the Lakers had changed philosophy this season, exchanging greeting with opposing players only if approached. That left Bryant staring at O'Neal's back from a few feet away as the game opened.
O'Neal finished with 18 points and 17 rebounds, hammering home three baskets in the last three minutes off lobs and putbacks. Wade had 18 points in 30 minutes while Odom totaled 14 points and 16 rebounds against his former team.
In the end, the Lakers only could hope their Christmas loss would serve them as well as one to San Antonio on Nov. 29. They fought back against the defending NBA champions that night, then went on to win five of six games on their next road trip.
"We're a young team," Bryant said. "To be in this position against this type of team, when we didn't play well at all, says a lot about where we're going."
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Ross Siler, (818) 713-3610 [email protected]
By Ross Siler, Staff Writer
Inside SOCAL
MIAMI - They are more than Christmas showdowns now, more like ferocious one-game playoff battles between the Lakers and Miami Heat, with the words exchanged leaving almost as bitter feelings as the close losses.
For the third time since trading away Shaquille O'Neal, the Lakers lost to the Heat, faltering in the final minute Sunday and watching a potential tying 3-pointer by Kobe Bryant come up short with 2.9 seconds left.
The final score was 97-92 at American Airlines Arena, but Lakers forward Lamar Odom had a parting shot to send afterward. It was directed at former Lakers guard Gary Payton, who spent much of the afternoon in Odom's ear.
Odom, rarely agitated, called Payton "extremely disrespectful" four times and suggested the notorious trash-talker watch "how he talks to other men."
"It's dudes like that, that's why things happen off the court between players and their friends and things like that." Odom said, later adding, "His mouth is horrible, atrocious."
Said Payton: "You know the young ones that got the hot tempers."
Odom's words were sure to give this saga involving Bryant, O'Neal, Phil Jackson and Pat Riley another subplot, not that it was necessary. The game itself was extraordinary from start to finish, with Bryant playing every minute of the second half and 44:17 in all.
Bryant finished with 37 points on 12-of-30 shooting but missed all eight 3-pointers he took and seemed to wear down in the fourth quarter. The surest sign came as he went to the line and uncharacteristically clanked two free throws with six minutes remaining.
"I thought it was mostly about his legs," Jackson said, "but he played a magnificent game."
The Lakers couldn't take control as Dwyane Wade spent nearly the entire third quarter on the bench after picking up his fourth foul. But they fought back from as many as eight points down in the fourth quarter as O'Neal returned for the last 7 1/2 minutes.
It all set up a furious finish, with the Lakers taking a 92-91 lead after Odom made one of two free throws with 1:29 left. It would be their last points of the afternoon.
At the other end, James Posey missed a 3-pointer for the Heat, but O'Neal pulled down the rebound, shoving Chris Mihm out of the way in Jackson's estimation. O'Neal then dumped the ball to an open Payton for a 3-pointer.
Payton tormented the Lakers throughout the game and finished with a team-high 21 points, making 9 of 11 shots. He also guarded Bryant, 10 years his junior, for much of the afternoon with Wade in foul trouble.
"Gary has that in him," O'Neal said. "He was out there playing and talking. He was being 'The Glove' that we all know."
With the Lakers needing a basket, Odom missed a wide-open, go-ahead 3-pointer with 41.9 seconds left. It was a shot Odom - who was 0 for 5 from long range - acknowledged he had to make.
"A shot was missed because a shot was missed," Odom said. "Not because (Payton) was talking or because I'm thinking about him."
The Lakers nearly watched Wade throw away the ball trying to find Udonis Haslem inside. But Wade got off a 19-footer after an inbounds play a tick before the shot clock expired.
Once again, the Lakers couldn't get the rebound they needed and Wade wound up at the foul line, hitting one of two free throws to make it 95-92 with 12.1 seconds left.
The Lakers wanted Odom to drive to the basket on their last-chance play, but he gave up the ball to Luke Walton, who then put it in Bryant's hands. Bryant launched a 3-pointer with Payton giving chase that hit the front rim.
It was eerily similar to last Christmas, when Bryant missed a 3-pointer that would have given the Lakers an overtime victory.
There was more to come this season as Odom and Payton jawed at each other while leaving the court.
"They're both chatterboxes out there and they had their little rift going on between each other," Jackson said.
There was a similarly tough exchange in the third quarter as Bryant caught Wade with an elbow cutting across the lane. Wade responded by shoving his forearm into Bryant's midsection, drawing his fourth personal with a flagrant foul.
The Lakers opened up a 70-65 lead as Brian Cook made four jumpers in the quarter, but gave it all back before the start of the fourth. After watching the Lakers struggle with Bryant on the bench in the first half, Jackson figured he couldn't sit his star guard.
As these meetings continue, O'Neal and Bryant continue to acknowledge each other less and less. They exchanged the briefest of hugs last Christmas, then couldn't connect on a fist bump before tip-off when the two teams met March 17.
There wasn't even that much Sunday. O'Neal did not take part in the captains meeting and took his place for the opening tip without even a nod in Bryant's direction. O'Neal did hug Odom and slap hands with Cook and Mihm.
For his part, Bryant said the day before the Lakers had changed philosophy this season, exchanging greeting with opposing players only if approached. That left Bryant staring at O'Neal's back from a few feet away as the game opened.
O'Neal finished with 18 points and 17 rebounds, hammering home three baskets in the last three minutes off lobs and putbacks. Wade had 18 points in 30 minutes while Odom totaled 14 points and 16 rebounds against his former team.
In the end, the Lakers only could hope their Christmas loss would serve them as well as one to San Antonio on Nov. 29. They fought back against the defending NBA champions that night, then went on to win five of six games on their next road trip.
"We're a young team," Bryant said. "To be in this position against this type of team, when we didn't play well at all, says a lot about where we're going."
---
Ross Siler, (818) 713-3610 [email protected]