Lakers Win 60th Of Season

April 18, 1998 / 2:35 AM EDT / CBS/AP

All the Los Angeles Lakers wanted was a chance, one measly opportunity to clinch homecourt advantage throughout the NBA playoffs in Sunday's season finale against the Utah Jazz.

They won't get it.

Even though the Lakers drubbed the Dallas Mavericks 124-95 Friday night, the Jazz locked up homecourt advantage with a 102-99 victory at Phoenix. The win was Utah's 62nd and made Sunday's game at the Forum a moot point at least in terms of the overall NBA standings.

Sunday's game is still critical for the Lakers, because Seattle's loss to San Antonio left them in a tie atop the Pacific Division at 60-21. And it was Shaquille O'Neal's 43 points that put the Lakers in a position to win their first division title since 1989-90, the last time they won 60.

"That just shows you that if you continue to work hard and keep knocking on the door, hopefully you'll be able to knock it down," Kobe Bryant said after the Lakers finally caught Seattle after a frustrating chase that lasted more than half a season.

Those in the sellout crowd of 17,505 who stayed to the end were shown the final two minutes of the Utah-Phoenix game live on the scoreboard. The Lakers watched the game's conclusion in their dressing room.

"If only we'd have beaten Phoenix last week that's what hurts right now," Eddie Jones said while shaking his head. "I mean, my mind went straight back to the Phoenix game, like, `Damn, how did we give that one away?' "

The Lakers' have won at least 60 games nine times since moving to Los Angeles in 1960-61, and Friday night's triumph put them a season-high 39 games over .500. But O'Neal pointed out that their record could have been much better.

"We've let about seven games slip away, but we really can't dwell on that," O'Neal said. "We have to be satisfied with where we are.

"We'll either have the second of third spot (in the West standings). But as long as we have some kind of homecourt advantage, if we can continue to dominate at home and steal some games on the road, it really doesn't matter what spot you have."

Michael Finley scored 31 points and Hubert Davis added 21 for the Mavericks, who concluded their eighth consecutive losing season with eight losses in their last nine games and a 20-62 record four games worse than last season's edition. They were 16-50 after general manager Don Nelson fired coach Jim Cleamons and made himself coach on Dec. 4.

"It was good to go through this together," Nelson said. "I think we have gone through a hard situation and made the best of it. It is a good time to let it end. We will just have to see what happens next year."

O'Neal improved his scoring average to 28.2, moving closer to Michael Jordan's league-leading average ogf 28.5. Jordan hs won the scoring title in his last nine complete seasons.

Los Angeles shot 61.8 percent en route to its fourth straight victory and 22nd in 25 games. Jones scored 21 points and Robert Horry had 11 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.

The Lakers got some breathing room with an 11-0 run as they increased a 10-point halftime lead to 76-54 with 5:42 left in the third quarter.

Dallas held the Lakers to one field goal in the first 4 ½ minutes of the fourth quarter and got as close as 96-84 with a 14-6 run capped by Finley's two free throws with 7:46 remaining. But the Lakers scored 15 of the next 17 points to open up a 109-84 cushion with 4:53 left.

O'Neal, who was 18-for-22 from the field, powered the Lakers to a 56-46 halftime lead with 19 points on 9-for-11 shooting. O'Neal, Jones and Bryant combined for 39 of the Lakers' first 42 points.

"It definitely started down low," Davis said. "Shaq is incredible. When he plays like that, he definitely opens up everything for everybody."

Lakers guard Nick Van Exel, whose 4.26-1 assist-to-turnover ratio is the NBA's best, served the second game of his two-game suspension for fighting with San Antonio's Monty Williams last Monday night.

Notes: The Lakers became the fourth team this season to win at least 60 games, an NBA record. ... The only franchise with more 60-win seasons than the Lakers is Boston with 11. ... The game marked Del Harris' 1,000th as an NBA coach. He's the ninth coach to improve his team's record in four consecutive seasons. Dick Motta was the only one to do it twice with Dallas and Detroit. ... O'Neal needs two more rebounds for 5,000 in his career. ... A.C. Green finished the season with his NBA-record consecutive game streak intact at 978. ... The Lakers have won the last 42 games in which they've shot at least 50 percent including 32 this season. ... The Lakers are 25-2 against Midwest Division teams. The only two losses are against Houston and Utah.