Shaq, Lakers Stuff Suns 99-93

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

March 19, 1998 / 1:56 AM EST / CBS Sportsline

Shaquille O'Neal scored 33 points and grabbed a season-high 22 rebounds Wednesday night as the Los Angeles Lakers held off the Phoenix Suns 99-93 for their seventh win in eight games.

It was O'Neal's third 20-20 game with the Lakers, and the 18th of his six-year NBA career.

O'Neal's previous Laker high in rebounding was 21 last season -- his first with the team. His career high is 28 against New Jersey when he was playing for Orlando on Nov. 20, 1993.

The Lakers remained four games behind the Pacific Division-leading Seattle SuperSonics with 17 games left in the regular season.

The Suns, who had their five-game winning streak snapped, trail the Lakers by 2½ games. Phoenix has 16 games remaining.

The Lakers led 90-80 after Robert Horry's 3-point shot with 5:20 to play, but the Suns scored the next eight points to draw within two. But that was as close as they would get.

Trailing 92-90, the Suns had possession twice, but couldn't score. O'Neal then made a short bank shot to give the Lakers a four-point lead with 1:30 left.

After Cliff Robinson scored for Phoenix, O'Neal made a three-point play with 55 seconds to play, making it 97-92. The Suns weren't closer than four points after that.

Horry had 18 points and 10 rebounds and Eddie Jones added 15 points for the Lakers.

Antonio McDyess led the Suns with 20 points and seven rebounds, but was held scoreless in the fourth quarter. Robinson added 18 points, Rex Chapman scored 14, and Jason Kidd had 11 points, nine rebounds and 12 assists for the Suns.

O'Neal, averaging 27.1 points and 11.2 rebounds in 42 previous games this season, had 17 points and 19 rebounds in the first half to lead the Lakers to a 49-42 lead.

The Lakers led by as many as nine points in the third quarter before the Suns cut their lead to 75-73 entering the final 12 minutes.

Neither team led by more than three points until the Lakers scored 11 straight to take a 42-32 lead with 5:12 left in the second quarter.

By that time, O'Neal's rebound total was 17 -- five more than the entire Phoenix team. The Suns didn't have a rebound in the second quarter until Kidd got one after a missed Los Angeles shot with 4:20 left in the period.

Notes: The Sonics and Lakers meet Friday night at the Forum for the fourth and final time during the regular season. The Sonics have won the three previous games between the teams. ... The Lakers have beaten the Suns in nine of the last 10 games between the teams. ... Phoenix has lost five straight games at the Forum, where they haven't won since March 1, 1995. ... The Suns have not beaten a team with a record of better than .500 since Feb. 22, when they defeated San Antonio 97-79. ... Lakers reserve Kobe Bryant scored 10 points in 28 minutes, but made just 1-of-10 field goal atempts. Averaging 15.9 points per game, Bryant didn't score in 14 minutes during Seattle's 101-89 win over the Lakers on Monday night -- the first time he's been held scoreless since last March 21 in a game at Miami.