Wednesday, January 23, 2002
Shaq's 40 not enough for win
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — Shaquille O'Neal scored 40 points in his return from a three-game suspension, but Voshon Lenard scored 29 points and Xavier product James Posey added 23 Tuesday night as the Denver Nuggets stunned the Los Angeles Lakers 107-91.
The Nuggets (13-28) won for only the fourth time in 18 games and snapped a 14-game road losing streak.
Denver, 3-16 in road games, won by making 39-of-69 shots, a season-best 56.5 percent.
O'Neal, who had 11 rebounds, scored 27 points in the first half, but had little help from his teammates. Kobe Bryant, who had 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists, was the only other Los Angeles player to score more than eight points.
Former UC All-American Nick Van Exel had 17 points and 12 assists and Zendon Hamilton also scored 17 points, a career high, for the Nuggets.
Van Exel's 3-point shot capped an 8-0 run that gave the Nuggets an 85-77 lead — largest of the game for either team to that point — and his layup made it 92-79 with 5:25 remaining.
The Lakers outscored Denver 9-1 to make it 93-88 with 3:13 to play, but two free throws by Lenard, who scored 13 in the fourth quarter, and five straight points by Posey triggered a game-closing 14-3 run by the Nuggets.
Three straight baskets by O'Neal put the Lakers on top 69-63 late in the third quarter. But the Nuggets responded by going on a 14-4 run to take a 77-73 lead into the final period.
The Lakers scored the first four points of the fourth quarter before the Nuggets went ahead for good.
Guarded mostly by Hamilton, generously listed at 6-foot-11 and 250 pounds, O'Neal had an easy time getting good shots in his big first half.
Trouble is, his teammates combined for only 23, and the Nuggets led at halftime 51-50.
O'Neal was knocked to the floor late in the first quarter when fouled by Raef LaFrentz, and again early in the third period when fouled by Hamilton. Both fouls were clean, and O'Neal didn't react.
Many in the Staples Center crowd of 18,997 stood to applaud when O'Neal was introduced before the game, and he was cheered again when he dunked for the first Lakers' points.
He hadn't played since taking a swing at Chicago's Brad Miller late in the fourth quarter of a 106-104 overtime loss to the Bulls on Jan. 12, for which he was suspended and fined
Mostly silent with the media since being suspended, O'Neal spoke briefly with reporters before the game.
“I haven't got anything nice to say yet, I'd rather save my money,” he said.
Notes: The Lakers (28-10) were 2-1 during O'Neal's suspension including a 98-81 victory at San Antonio on Saturday. ... The Nuggets played without Scott Williams, who sat out his sixth game because of a sore lower back, and George McCloud, who missed his ninth with a strained right calf. ... The Nuggets snapped a 10-game losing streak to the Lakers in Los Angeles, winning here for the first time since Jan. 7, 1996. ... Denver's 3-16 road record is the second-worst in the NBA; the Chicago Bulls are 1-19. ... Denver rookie Chris Anderson, playing with a chip fracture in his right wrist, drew a reaction from the crowd when he shot a pair of free throws underhanded late in the first quarter. He made 1-of-2.
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Shaq's 40 not enough for win
