Suddenly, It's 'Like Old Times'

By J.A. Adande

Dec. 9, 2002 12 AM PT

This is the new NBA, where video review is an option -- and sometimes even mandatory. And this is new territory for the Lakers, who still have to show us something even after producing one of the most stirring victories in franchise history.

Their impressive comeback from a 27-point fourth-quarter deficit Friday against the Dallas Mavericks gave the appearance that they had found their championship ways. Sunday’s game against the Utah Jazz was time to see if Friday was a fact or a fluke.

So now, after working through a 110-101 victory over the Jazz, we can offer the confirmation.

The Lakers are back. At least they’re back to the method that worked well enough to win 58 regular-season games last season.

One quarter at peak level by them is enough to beat most NBA teams on most nights. They can’t be expected to produce another 44-15 super quarter as they did Friday night against Dallas, but they did convert that remarkable finish into a fast start Sunday, and that was all they needed.

The Lakers came out and put together 12 solid minutes, shooting 56% from the field, recording assists on seven of their 10 field goals. If they hadn’t missed seven of their 13 free throws they could have posted another 40-point quarter. They still outscored Utah, 34-21, giving them a 78-36 spread against their opponents over two consecutive quarters.

The Jazz outplayed and outscored the Lakers in two of the final three quarters, but that wasn’t enough. Not when Shaquille O’Neal is setting up deep enough in the lane and getting high enough off the ground to score 32 points with 11 rebounds and three blocked shots. Not when Kobe Bryant is controlling the game like an upgraded, deluxe version of Steve Nash, driving through the lane for layups and creating shots for teammates like Brian Shaw (11 points).

The Lakers were good enough for just long enough -- and it was all enough.

“Like old times,” Shaw said. “Like old times.”

“Well, it’s a step,” Coach Phil Jackson said. “We couldn’t quite sustain the effort. [The starters] should have been off the court the last five minutes, but we couldn’t sustain the effort.”

The important thing the Lakers did was sustain the momentum they created Friday. A loss Sunday wouldn’t have erased the memories of that accomplishment, but it would negate the progress. The Lakers simply need to win games: five more in a row to get above .500 and 41 of their remaining 60 to reach the 50 victories Jackson said they’ll need to be a playoff team.

This victory really began in the unusually quiet locker room at halftime Friday night, when they were 28 points behind the Mavericks. Even the usually vocal guys were quiet. They all made the decision, internally, that they would at least put up a better showing on national television. Anything but the complete embarrassment they displayed in the first half, which resulted in them being booed louder than they ever had at Staples Center.

As Shaw said, “We’re not going out like that.”

O’Neal has been jumping out on screen-and-rolls and defending little guards like Steve Nash and John Stockton, something he normally doesn’t do until playoff time. Jackson has gone to his veteran-heavy playoff rotation (say hello to the bench, Slava Medvedenko).

The Lakers are playing seriously again.

“I knew how we were going to come out,” Bryant said. “I knew we were going to play hard. Our defense tonight was really what keyed it. But I know guys respond to momentum. It’s an emotional game.”

Just being the Lakers won’t be enough to win games anymore. As they enter their fourth season with Jackson coaching essentially the same personnel, the rest of the league is catching up to them the way NFL defenses catch up to the latest offensive wrinkle.

“What we’ve been doing over the last three years, I think in some ways we’ve become predictable,” Shaw said. “Teams are scouting us better. They’re daring us to do certain things. We have to be able to execute that much more. Because Phil’s not going to let us stray too much away from this triangle and what he wants us to do out on the floor.”

But they know that as long as they’re getting the ball to Kobe and Shaq, they’ll be OK.

Yes, Utah hung around much longer than it should have on a night Karl Malone made only three of 16 shots and looked all of 39 years old. The Jazz appeared more fired up to take on the officials than the Lakers, leading to first-quarter ejections for center Greg Ostertag and Coach Jerry Sloan.

But Andrei Kirilenko put up 30 points (it only seemed as if he had 30 by halftime) and creaky backup point guard Mark Jackson was the quickest guy on the court at times and the Laker lead was as small as three points in the final minute of the first half.

So it was still a bit of a contest even though “we just played real soft,” Sloan said.

(With Jim Mora off the scene, it’s official: there’s no coach better to listen to after his team loses than Sloan. Other comments on his squad: “We didn’t deserve to win.... We have to have people that play hard and who are interested in the game.... I didn’t say the game was unfairly officiated. I though we played unfairly for anyone who had to pay the money to come see us play.”)

Phil Jackson was a little hard on his team too. But it’s mostly for show. Kind of like old times.

J.A. Adande can be reached at [email protected].