Hornets 98, Lakers 82
Saturday December 14, 2002By JOHN NADEL
AP Sports Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) The three-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers hit bottom Friday night. At least, they hope so.
Jamal Mashburn had 21 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, and Baron Davis added 18 points and eight assists while playing all 48 minutes as the New Orleans Hornets routed the slumping Lakers 98-82.
And at Staples Center, no less.
``This team really needed this kind of loss to face themselves,'' Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. ``They realize how bad they are. There's no remedy but simple hard work.''
The loss was the second straight for the Lakers (9-15), who are 6-6 since Shaquille O'Neal returned from the injured list after sitting out the season's first 12 games.
O'Neal had 28 points and 10 rebounds before coming out of the game with 2:47 remaining, and left without speaking to reporters.
His teammates spoke volumes.
``This is as close to the bottom as you can get,'' said Kobe Bryant, who was the only other Los Angeles player in double figures with 16 points, but shot only 6-of-16 and had just two rebounds and five assists.
``I don't think it can go any lower than this, I hope it doesn't go any lower,'' Derek Fisher said.
``We haven't been in this situation,'' Robert Horry said. ``Even when we were swept in the playoffs, we still had good records.
``We just can't figure it out. It's almost like we're just running in mud every time we go out there.''
O'Neal, who criticized his teammates publicly for the second time this month following a 106-102 loss at Golden State on Tuesday night, scored 10 straight Los Angeles points to give him 16 in the first nine minutes.
He would score only 12 more after that.
``We swarmed him a lot, had a lot of double teams,'' Mashburn said. ``It's difficult out there when you're getting double-teamed.
``You can't expect the man to carry the whole team on his shoulders even though everybody wants him too. He needs help out there. That's their problem, not our problem.''
Reserves Courtney Alexander and Elden Campbell scored 14 points each for the Hornets, who won for the sixth time in seven games.
Hornets coach Paul Silas called the game one of the best his team has played from start to finish and understandably so.
Davis' three-point play early in the second quarter snapped a 35-all tie and put the Hornets ahead for good. They led 60-48 at halftime, and the Lakers weren't closer than nine points after that.
``That's the way you win on the road,'' Davis said. ``You don't turn the ball over, you get a lot of easy buckets, and you play good defense. That's what we did tonight.''
The Lakers trailed by 11 points before baskets by Mashburn, Davis and Alexander made it 91-74 with a little under five minutes remaining. The Hornets led by as many as 21 points before the end.
``We got key contributions from a lot of people,'' Silas said. ``We're playing really well right now, we've just got to keep doing that.
Baskets by David Wesley and P.J. Brown gave the Hornets a 74-59 lead late in the third quarter the largest of the game for either team to that stage and it was 78-66 entering the final period.
The Lakers rallied from a 27-point deficit entering the final period to beat Dallas 105-103 a week earlier, but they wouldn't threaten in the latter stages of this game.
Alexander scored nine points to spark a 15-2 run that put the Hornets on top 55-41.
The Lakers shot 53.8 percent in the first half, but committed 13 turnovers to only four for the Hornets, who shot 59.1 percent.
Los Angeles wound up shooting 43.6 percent and committing 16 turnovers while New Orleans shot 47 percent and committed 11 turnovers.< ^Notes:@ The Lakers had won seven straight over the Hornets, including four in a row as the home team. ... Campbell, who played eight-plus seasons with the Lakers before being traded to the Hornets in March 1999, still has a home in the Los Angeles area. He said 24 friends and family members came to the game. ... Regarding the Lakers' slow start, Campbell said: ``I don't think it's that big a deal. Shaq, he's probably just now getting up to speed.'' ... The game was the first of seven straight for the Lakers against playoff teams from last season. All but Toronto currently have winning records. ... The game was the second of a season-high seven-game road trip for the Hornets, who beat Utah 93-88 on Thursday night.
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