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Lakers Win 19th Straight


A limping Shaq is better than no Shaq at all.

Shaquille O'Neal, playing with a sore hamstring, had 40 points, nine rebounds and seven assists as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Denver Nuggets 118-108 Monday night for their 19th straight win.

"I've been feeling it since last Sunday, but I sucked it up and I played," O'Neal said. "I have heart. I'm on a mission."

Apparently, so are the Lakers, whose winning streak is the third-best in NBA history and the longest since the Chicago Bulls had an 18-game streak end against Denver on Feb. 4, 1996.

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  • Chicago went on to win the NBA title that season.

    "There's an intrigue about playing this string out," said Lakers coach Phil Jackson, who coached that Bulls team.

    "The motivational level will happen in another space and another time. Right now, it's just kind of intriguing to go through it and continue on."

    With a victory Thursday night in Washington, Los Angeles can tie the 1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks for the second-longest streak. The 1971-72 Lakers hold the league record of 33 straight.

    "This is nice, but I don't think they pass out anything for teams that win 19 in a row," said Ron Harper. "You only think about moving on."

    The Nuggets, who have lost six in a row, made things interesting as NBA commissioner David Stern looked on. Denver trailed by 11 with 4:05 remaining but scored the next six points to close to 107-102 with 2:33 left.

    O'Neal responded with two free throws, and Denver's Antonio McDyess was called for an offensive foul. O'Neal made two more free throws, prompting a fan to say, "Hack-a-Shaq don't work no more."

    O'Neal, shooting 50 percent from the line, hit his last seven free throws and finishe the night 12-for-16. Denver never got within eight the rest of the way.

    "I'm known to hit those in crunch time," O'Neal said with a smirk. "I'm just not known as an 85 percent free-throw shooter, but I'm known to hit at least one in crunch time."

    Kobe Bryant, coming off a career-high 40 points in Sunday's three-point win over Sacramento, scored 22, and Glen Rice added 20 for Los Angeles, which last lost Feb. 1 at San Antonio.

    Reserve Chris Gatling had 25 points to lead six Denver players in double figures. Former Los Angeles point guard Nick Van Exel finished with 17 points and 15 assists.

    Gatling was reluctantly complimentary toward the 7-foot-1, 315-pound O'Neal and the Lakers.

    "He's just a bully. That's all it is," Gatling said. "He just bullies his way in there, and who's going to stop him? I don't think he can get any better unless he hits all his free throws and starts shooting 3s. He's one of the league's best players, if not the best."

    Aside from O'Neal's perseverance, one of the game's highlights came early in the fourth quarter when Nuggets guard Chris Herren lost his left shoe while running back on defense. The Lakers committed a turnover, and Herren hit a 3-pointer to pull Denver to 88-87 with 10:50 remaining.

    Herren later hit a free throw to keep the Nuggets within three with 8:12 left, but Brian Shaw helped the Lakers pull away with two 3-pointers in a three-minute span.

    "Don't they have cable here?" said Shaw, a career 30 percent 3-point shooter. "I can shoot the 3-pointer. I always have."

    Denver trailed by 10 early in the second half but three times cut the lead to a point. Bryant, O'Neal and Rice kept the Nuggets at bay, combining for Los Angeles' last 26 points of the third quarter as the Lakers took a six-point lead into the fourth.

    Notes

  • Denver's George McCloud served a one-game suspension for a post-game scuffle with former teammate and current Orlando swingman Ron Mercer.
  • The Nuggets have had three losing streaks of at least five games this season.
  • The Lakers allowed more than 100 points for only the third time during their winning streak.
  • Ten of the Lakers' 19 straight wins have come on the road.
  • Los Angeles started a five-game road trip.
  • Lakers coach Phil Jackson moved within two victories of 600 for his career.
  • Herren had 12 poits for his first double-figure game.

    ©2000 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

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