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Show The Salt Lake TribuneNBA PLAYOFFS Monday, May24, 1999_ bmn) + § Continued from C-1 Pere Hoe Semis Shaquille O'Neal scored 36 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead the Lakers, but he made only 12-of-23 free throws while his teammates looked suspiciously lketheydd —— a year ago We showed when the thatailot Jazz swept them out of more the conference finals teamwork That is, works. clueless . We ina showe a lot more teamwork Spurs Sweep to Spin Same Sad Playoff Storyfor Shaq’s Lakers GAME SUMMARY won, Sea Bit m23 1015 1472 Duce 4 1h14 14 4 $33 = 8 coesis Be 4 1d 34S Tim Duncan : Spurs San Antonio = works,” said 41 615 mom? 67 02 BY MICHAELC. LEWIS THE SALT LAKE TRIBUD INGLEWOOD,Calif. — So much 01102 19 G1 12 forall the glory andprestige that Sha- $01 60 0005 0 22 45 1k OS 8 7 1 Go go a1 8 2 00 09 100 0 Kersey wo 45 1 os 0 a9 Ton eo 2G 455 2820 18 Perceatges — FG 800, FE 722 aiteePoint Goals —7-12, 568 Uncen 611, ee ‘Blocked Shoti— 3 (Robinsoe _Iumre—20 stn Das Bie 8, lot 3 Robinson 2. Jacko 2 Keay. King) Stabe eeEt it os os ve 268 Tear quille O'Neal was goingto bring to the Los Angeles Lakers. The man who once said he hoped to win a championshipring for eachfingeris now 1-24 in the last six NBA playoff series in which his team has been eliminated. “It's very embarrassing,” he said after his third Laker season ended. “Byery time I get sent home,I get em- barrassed. I hate saying, ‘Well, we played hard.’ No, nowit’s over.” The latest chapter ended on Sunday, when the Lakers were sweptfor the secondstraight time. Theylost to the San Antonio Spurs 118-107 in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals, leaving the Spurs to advance to play the Jazz or Portland ier 062 00 0 Trail Blazersin the conferencefinals, while they prepare for another frustrating offseason of wondering what happened and whowill take the fall ae cm nino forit. Maharey PG 446, FT 639. Duncan So the Spurs marchon, having won four straight road playoff games and nine of 10 awayfrom the Alamodome overall. They remember how close they came to beating the Jazz last year,in spite of the 4-1 series final. Duncan missed a last-second shot after scoring 33 points in Game 1 and had 26 points before hesprained his ankle and the Spurs fell in overtime of Game2. The Spurs clobbered the Jazz in Game 3, but with Duncan hurt, that was the only victory they could muster. Now, they're hoping for evenbiggerthings Pat ty ae tonedero ‘I don't know anything,” said O'N- Rebounds — PiterON Steals — ‘ory Pier 2, Lae 2. Oe Red) Sahin 3 8Sn ae Se heat Coach Kurt Rambis, he meant. Having taken over when Del Harris wasfiredearlier this season — largely as punishmentfor being swept bythe Jazz in last year’s conference finals — Rambis himself is the subject of a debate over his job security. At the veryleast, he received some mild compliments from his players after they were dusted yet again. “He did an excellent job,” ‘A 11,506 (17 091.7 — 240, ee rte “The sweepreally doesn't say anything aboutus,” said Johnson,“until wewin a championship guard Kobe Bryant. “With all ofth a aes . you have to put yourself in his shoes his whole head didn’t turn gray.” I certainly should have coach, Rambis ‘not only had todeal with ail ofthe usual pressuresof such a situation, but he had to cope with the Lakers’ near-chronic underachievement, a simmeringbattle of egos between Bryantand O'Neal and a mid-season trade that sent fan favorite Eddie Jones to Charlotte for long-range shooter Glen Rice and J.R. Reid In the eyes of many, the trade was bad. While O'Neal had 36 points and 14 rebounds Sunday, Rice scored 11 points on 4-of-10 shooting and Reid managed just one basket in 15 minutes, Both will be free agents this summer,and O'Nealhastheright to 4 qP Sweep ? Lakers In NBA Playoffs C7 terminatehis contract. Thinking About... 900 Minutes Only $39.95 Per Month S00 WeekendLongDistance Minute We'll Beat any Dealon Voicestream Phones! NATIONWIDE AUTOGLASSPov Salt Lake Basically, it boiled downto team work,” said Rice. “A lot of times there wasn't a lot of teamwork out there. We weren't together. They were together andit shows that you can bea very dominating team... We weren't together out there oneither end. You have to cover each other's back The Lakers did not do anything closeto that against the Spurs. They allowed San Antonioto shoot 60 percent and rattle off 13 unanswered points to start the fourth quarter, while Alta High product Travis Knightset an NBAplayoff record by foulingout in six minutes. The Lakers made only 2-of-7 three-point shots and 23-of-36 free throws. It madeforanill-fitting end for the Great Western Forum, the arena the Lakers haveoccupied since 1967 and onethat has witnessed suchillustrious chapters in team history as the 33game winning streak in 1972 and the Showtime” team’s five champion: ships in the 1980s. The Lakers are moving to the new Staples Center downtown next season, meaning the old building's last look at men’s pro basketball wasan ugly one T take all of it on myself,” said O'Neal. “I takeall of it on myself. We had a pretty successful firstroundseries, but then we just went away from what got us there... We changedupandstarted calling plays ratherthanjust inside-out. We really didn’t play smart against this team. 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