LOS ANGELES Shaquille O'Neal had 39 points, 14 rebounds, five blocks and dominated the fourth quarter Sunday as the Lakers fought off the Clippers and beat their cross-town rivals for the 14th straight time 108-103. O'Neal scored 22 points in the final period as the NBA champion Lakers erased a six-point deficit.
The powerful center even survived a dose of "hack-a-Shaq" as he made 8-of-15 free throws in the fourth quarter. The Lakers exploded for 43 points in the final quarter, including 15 points from Isaiah rider, who had 22 points in all. Lamar Odom and Jeff McInnis scored 19 points apiece for the Clippers, who played hard the entire game but remained winless against their cross-town rivals since March 14, 1997. As big a game as O'Neal turned in, it did not match his last effort against the Clippers when he poured in a career-high 61 points last March 6 on his 28th birthday.
In Phoenix, Cliff Robinson scored 30 points as the Phoenix Suns survived a furious fourth quarter by Cuttino Mobley and held on for a 104-99 victory over the Houston Rockets. Robinson, who was 12-for-12 from the charity stripe, sank four free throws in the final 28 seconds. "Tonight was cliff's best game," Suns Coach Scott Skiles said. Mobley nearly brought the Rockets all the way back after they had fallen behind by 14 points early in the fourth quarter. The streaky guard buried 7-of-10 shots over the next 10 minutes, scoring 19 of his 27 points in the final period.
Mobley's bucket with 47 seconds to play drew Houston within 98-95 but he committed his sixth foul during the ensuing sequence and Robinson buried two from the line to make it 100-95 with 28 seconds left.
(Reuter)