Shaq, Lakers Overpower Knicks

Aside from his 61-point outing two weeks ago, this was as dominant a game as Shaquille O'Neal has had all season.

O'Neal was unstoppable again Sunday, scoring 43 points to close in on Allen Iverson in the NBA scoring race as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the New York Knicks 92-85.

"My teammates were looking for me and I was doing what I do best, taking high-percentage shots," O'Neal said. "I still missed some chippies that I don't usually miss, but my teammates looked for me and I did what I've been doing all year.".

O'Neal finished 18-for-31 from the field and 7-for-13 from the line with 10 rebounds and three assists as the Lakers won their second in a row and their 21st in their last 22 games while snapping New York's four-game winning streak.

O'Neal raised his scoring average from 28.8 to 29.0, leaving him two-tenths of a point behind Iverson heading into Philadelphia's game against Orlando on Sunday night.

"It really doesn't mean anything to me," O'Neal said. "If I get it, I get it. If not, I'll understand."

Defense was almost as big of a factor for the Lakers as O'Neal's offense.

Los Angeles shut down the Knicks in the third quarter, holding them to 14 points, to take the lead for good. The Lakers also forced every New York starter except Charlie Ward to miss more than half his shots.

obe Bryant added 24 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the Lakers, who improved the NBA's best record to 55-12.

Allan Houston scored 20 points to lead the Knicks.

"Shaq's 43 was fine," Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "Bryant getting 17 in the second half was what killed us."

O'Neal missed three straight free throws that would have given him 40 points midway through the fourth quarter, and the Knicks followed with their final push a 6-1 run that cut their deficit to 78-72 with 4:57 left.

O'Neal answered with two free throws, Patrick Ewing misfired on a jumper one of his 14 misses from the field in 20 attempts and Bryant hit a 27-foot 3-pointer as the shot clock expired to give Los Angeles an 11-point lead with just under four minutes left.

O'Neal scored his final points on an alley-oop dunk with 50 seconds left.

"We were able to pace this game in the third quarter so that in the fourth quarter we were able to use our strengths to quiet the crowd and their team," said Lakers coach Phil Jackson.

O'Neal scored the Lakers' final 10 points of the first quarter on a variety of inside moves, taking advantage as the Knicks single-covered him with Ewing or Kurt Thomas neither of whom could keep the 7-footer from establishing position near the basket.

O'Neal reached 20 points less than 3 1/2 minutes into the second quarter, converting a line drive jump hook for a 29-25 lead, and by halftime he had 24 points although the Lakers trailed 44-43.

"Usually when I hit my first couple shots that means I'm going to have a pretty good night," O'Neal said. "My shots were going, they weren't doubling me, so I just went with what I know.

"Was I surprised (that the Knicks didn't double team him)?" O'Neal asked. "Yes."

The Shaq Show kept up in the third quarter, and the Lakers started to pull away as New York could find no one who could get things going offensively. O'Neal reached 30 points on a short shot with six minutes left in the third quarter for a 56-49 lead, and O'Neal finally took his first rest of the game with 3:53 left in the third and Los Angeles ahead by five.

O'Neal returned two minutes later and made two baskets and a free throw over the rest of the period, and Bryant drove through two defenders for a short bank shot at the buzzer that gave the Lakers a 69-58 lead entering the fourth.

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