KMAX: Sports

Lakers 110, Grizzlies 94

By JOHN NADEL
AP Sports Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) The Los Angeles Lakers are running out of time to improve their playoff position.

Shaquille O'Neal thinks that's no big deal.

``We want to move up in the standings. (But) it doesn't matter to us,'' O'Neal said after leading the three-time defending NBA champions to a 110-94 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night. ``If we don't move up, I'm not going to drink a can of rat poison.''

O'Neal had 34 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots as the Lakers (43-31) won for the eighth time in 11 games.

The Lakers are in seventh place in the Western Conference with eight games remaining, but could get as high as fourth. They trail Utah by a half-game, Minnesota by 2{ and Portland by three.

``Eight games,'' O'Neal said firmly when asked how far away the Lakers were from being playoff-ready. ``I think the guys are going to start focusing more. We know what it takes.''

The Lakers began the season by losing 19 of their first 30 games. They've gone 32-12 since then.

Kobe Bryant had 29 points, five rebounds, eight assists and six steals to equal a career high as the Lakers bounced back from an ugly 119-98 loss at Seattle a night earlier.

``We just did what we were supposed to do tonight with a team like that after the bad loss yesterday,'' O'Neal said. ``I think we moved the ball a little bit better and we played with a little more effort.''

O'Neal shot 15-of-22, making him 117-of-188 (62 percent) in the last nine games.

Bryant was 10-of-23 including 3-of-5 from 3-point range. He's 20-of-33 (61 percent) on 3-pointers in the last five games.

``We know what we're capable of doing and we know what our track record in the playoffs is,'' Bryant said. ``So we want to utilize our experience as much as possible, build as much rhythm and momentum as we possibly can going into the playoffs, and then use our experience to try to wear down teams.

``We don't turn it on like a faucet. I think that's a huge misconception. I think we build toward it gradually. So even though you don't see the wins piling up, we're still building the momentum gradually. It's not something that you automatically flip on.''

The Lakers put Memphis away by scoring six straight points for an 85-70 lead with 9:04 remaining. The Grizzlies weren't closer than 10 points after that.

Pau Gasol led Memphis with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Wesley Person added 20 points and Lorenzen Wright had 14 points and 15 rebounds for the Grizzlies (26-48), who lost their fourth straight game.

Wright believes the Lakers will be ready when the time comes.

``They have a really good team,'' he said. ``I don't know why they keep playing with everybody, playing around. When they come to play, they can beat anybody. I guess they're just saving it for the playoffs.''

Mike Miller, who's averaging 16.1 points, was limited to nine minutes by back spasms.

``Mike Miller can only play even if he is healthy 24 to 26 minutes by the doctors,'' Grizzlies coach Hubie Brown said. ``But tonight he got off, got a couple of hoops and unfortunately, it just locked up on him so he had to go.

``We missed so many shots tonight that were wide-open shots. We had so many 3s. I think we're fifth in the league in 3s and tonight we were 5-for-17.''< ^Notes:@ Slava Medvedenko made his eighth start of the season for the Lakers and scored 11 points. He held Gasol scoreless until being replaced with 47 seconds left in the opening period. ... The Lakers have won 11 straight home games. ... The Lakers have a 28-2 record against the Grizzlies in the eight-season history of that franchise and have won all 16 games in Los Angeles. ... Formed as an expansion franchise in Vancouver in 1995, the Grizzlies seemed a good bet to achieve their first winning month ever when they won seven of their first 10 games in March. But they lost six of their last seven including the final four to finish the month with an 8-9 record. ... The Lakers shot 47-of-88 (53.4 percent). They're 18-1 this season when making at least half their shots.

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