Warriors 106, Lakers 102
Wednesday December 11, 2002By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) Judging by the frustration in Phil Jackson's voice and the anger in Shaquille O'Neal's eyes, the Los Angeles Lakers' slow start has lingered too long for comfort.
Jason Richardson had six 3-pointers among his 26 points, and Earl Boykins drew a charge against Derek Fisher with 10.7 seconds left as the Lakers tumbled back into last place in the Pacific Division with a 106-102 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night.
The Warriors beat the three-time champions for the third time in their last five visits to Oakland but this time, they did their best to give away the victory with a series of turnovers and poor shots in the final minutes.
The Lakers closed an 11-point deficit to one, but they couldn't get the one basket or officiating call they needed to forge ahead. While the improving Warriors celebrated, Jackson questioned the Lakers' heart and O'Neal lingered in the training room before briefly emerging to blast his teammates again.
``I'm just waiting for us to put out the extra effort,'' Jackson said. ``I thought there were some loose balls on the floor that we should have gone after, and it just seemed like we didn't want to get down and get after the things we have to get after. We didn't excel in areas where we often excel.''
Los Angeles trailed by nine with slightly more than three minutes to play, but Bryant, O'Neal and Fisher scored on consecutive possessions to cut the Warriors' lead to 101-100.
Golden State led by two when Richardson turned the ball over with 15 seconds left, but Fisher plowed over the 5-foot-5 Boykins under the basket, killing Los Angeles' last shot at tying. It was a borderline call, and this time, it didn't go the Lakers' way.
``They're a confident team, and that's what we've got to become,'' Boykins said. ''(The charge) was just a matter of beating him down the court. It was a foot race to the basket, and he just ran me over.''
O'Neal had 36 points and nine rebounds, but he was on the bench because of defensive matchups for many of the closing seconds. Los Angeles went without a field goal in the final 2:19.
Gilbert Arenas, who scored 25 points, and Boykins hit two free throws apiece in the final 10 seconds, and the Lakers missed three shots. Richardson was perfect on six 3-point attempts, hitting the last one with 3:17 left.
Kobe Bryant hit his funny bone in the second half, but he finished with 19 points and 14 assists for the Lakers, who had won two straight. They haven't had a three-game winning streak all season.
Antawn Jamison scored 17 points, and Boykins scored 11 of his 14 points in the second half. Boykins, who signed with the Warriors just two weeks ago, addressed his teammates at practice on Monday, urging them to improve their late-game poise.
``It's not often that we have a packed house, and the guys really responded to that energy,'' Warriors coach Eric Musselman said. ``That was entertaining basketball. We have a lot of room to grow still, and we're doing it.''< ^Notes:@ The Warriors' first sellout crowd of the season was split fairly evenly between Lakers fans and Warriors fans. Even San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds made the scene, albeit incognito with a cap pulled low, along with Gary Sheffield. ... Arenas' 17 points in the first quarter were the most by a Warriors player in any quarter this season.
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