Some Foul Shooting Undoes the Lakers

The only comfort for the Lakers, if such a thing existed Sunday night at the Great Western Forum, came in that at least it was a cushioned blow. Had to have been.

Given their problems--from the free-throw line, against teams below the playoff line and against Allen Iverson and his killer crossover dribble--they should have seen this coming five weeks ago when the Philadelphia 76ers last beat them.

And still the Lakers sounded disgusted after wasting 26 points and 16 rebounds in 31 minutes by Shaquille O’Neal. Still they sounded down after the 113-107 loss to the 76ers before 17,505 that included missed free throws and a missed opportunity to beat up a team.

Still.

Said Philadelphia Coach Larry Brown, apparently a little taken back himself: “Some things happen when you least expect it.�

Though plenty about the conclusion to the Lakers’ five-game home stand, their longest of the season, was predictable.

They went 20 of 37 from the line, including seven of 14 in the fourth quarter, in which the 76ers were 14 of 15.

They got picked apart by Iverson.

He hit the Lakers with his signature move twice in the final 2:01, each time getting into the lane before being fouled by Nick Van Exel. Iverson made three of the four free throws en route to 31 points and 11 assists, both game highs, to turn a 98-97 edge into 101-99. But his fun was just beginning.

Fouled going for a defensive rebound on the ensuing possession, he made two more from the line to make it 103-99 with 1:06 left.

Then, when O’Neal went to throw the ball back in, Iverson intercepted the pass. That led to another 76er score, a 105-99 cushion, and the end of the Lakers.

“He was great the whole game,� Brown said. “He’s had some great games, but under the circumstances this is the best one I’ve been around. He’s had some games I’ve told him he’s played about as good as a point guard can play. So he might have topped it tonight, because he played against a quality team.�

“Iverson dominated the game obviously,� Laker Coach Del Harris said.

When it was on the line mainly. All of the 76ers took turns earlier.

The blood trickling down Kobe Bryant’s right hand, and the several drops that ended up in the lane, provided fitting symbolism of the Lakers’ first half, though they both healed quickly enough. Bryant sustained a bloody nose upon banging into Philadelphia’s Jim Jackson while playing defense, but the Lakers’ second quarter was more gory than anything their second-year swingman could offer.

Ugly, but not unprecedented, and that was part of the problem. The Lakers trailed the 76ers by 14 points in the fourth quarter on Nov. 28 in Philadelphia after being run out of CoreStates Center in the second half, and now they were trying to avoid being swept in the season series for the first time since 1982-83.

The 76ers, owners of the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference and on this night also without starting small forward Tim Thomas, with family following the death of an uncle, led by 14 with 4:49 left before halftime. The Lakers got that down to four points about 2 1/2 minutes later, but still trailed, 57-49, at the break.

At least Harris had some increased flexibility with O’Neal at his disposal for the comeback. Friday, in the return after six weeks on the sideline because of a strained abdominal muscle, both of them had to work with something in the range of 20 minutes, which threatened to become a problem when the Atlanta Hawks rallied.

Sunday, the time limit went up to the 25-30 range, so O’Neal played 15 minutes in the first half. Fifteen minutes off the bench, that is, though it was likely his second and last time as a reserve.

“This will probably be it,� Harris said. “But we’ll see.�

That much will be played out Tuesday in Vancouver, for Sunday was about a more pressing concern. The 76ers, an 8-22 team, took the lead with 1:10 left in the first quarter and held it until 8:23 remained. And then, after a brief Laker recovery, all the way until next season.

“We knew that they were really going to try to come at us,� Iverson said. “The first time they didn’t have Shaq, but we didn’t have D.C. [Derrick Coleman]. We looked at it like that. With their best player back on the floor and our best player back on the floor, we felt we could get a win.�