Making an Impression That Won’t Fade Away

Of the Lakers’ 13 victories thus far, Friday night’s will be the only one still discussed come May.

Some games matter more than others, and a 103-87 victory over the defending NBA champions is as impressive as they get.

At last, there was a meaningful game for the Lakers after a month of Grizzlies and Raptors and Bulls. It was a visit from the San Antonio Spurs, with all of the central characters from both sides in action.

You’d think that might bring an air of seriousness to the Lakers as they returned to work at morning shootaround after taking Thanksgiving off.

Nope.

“They were goofing off as usual,” Coach Phil Jackson said.

You’d think the arrival of the Spurs and their militaristic defense would bring an end to the Lakers’ free-flowing offensive ways.

Nope. It was the same story it’s been for the previous two games, all about high shooting percentages and assists in Costco-size quantities.

And they did it all despite one of the worst statistical nights of Shaquille O’Neal’s career.

Their 47 points after two quarters against the Spurs was just as impressive as either of the 60-point halves against the Grizzlies and Wizards, considering the level of opposition. Then the Lakers topped that with a 37-point third quarter.

The Lakers posted five players in double figures, shot 52.5% for the game, dished out 29 dimes, toasted a triple-double for Karl Malone and benefited from another in-the-flow game by Kobe Bryant. It’s the type of night the Lakers envisioned, this summer, with Malone getting the better of a power-forward matchup and Gary Payton pushing the ball upcourt -- although they probably didn’t count on Devean George, with 19 points, leading the team in scoring.

“We have a full thrust,” Bryant said. “Our whole team comes at you. Last year it was a one-two punch, this year it’s just a wave.”

They had this game in hand by the middle of the third quarter.

The Lakers split games against the Detroit Pistons, one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference (which, technically, is still a part of the NBA). But if the Lakers really wanted to make a statement, they would have finished the job and beaten the Pistons at the Palace of Auburn Hills as well.

Friday night, the Lakers took the opportunity to send a mass e-mail to the rest of the league:

To: [email protected]

From: [email protected]

Subject: Be afraid. Very Afraid.

They might want to include a link to this quote from Payton: “We can play against good teams, we’re a good team. And we’re not going to take anything lying down. We’re going to come at you the same way you’re coming at us.”

The Lakers reached a double-digit lead with two points each from Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal in the first 14 minutes. In the past, that would be a recipe for disaster; now it’s part of the successful formula.

The Lakers had more than enough players to handle the scoring duties. They could pick and choose from George, Malone and Payton, and Derek Fisher in relief. So much for last season, when the Spurs won eight of 10 regular-season and playoff games against the Lakers by shutting down everyone other than Shaq and Kobe.

The other noticeable difference from recent Laker-Spur meetings was O’Neal and Horace Grant were ready to thwart drives through the lane by Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.

O’Neal’s two blocked shots and six defensive rebounds represented almost everything he brought to the table.

O’Neal didn’t do much at the offensive end in his return after missing two games with a strained calf muscle. He didn’t make his first field goal until two minutes into the third quarter, and he finished with seven points, one above his career low.

So just as the Spurs could find encouragement in their double-overtime loss to the Lakers when Parker and Tim Duncan didn’t play in San Antonio on Nov. 6, the Lakers can come away feeling more confident when they head to San Antonio for the rematch Wednesday.

All O’Neal did to this game was give legitimacy to the pregame hype by his presence. These were the real actors, not the understudies.

But he wasn’t the key to the story Friday.

From a tactical perspective, Jackson was more concerned to see what effect Payton and Malone would have on the Lakers’ mismatches from last year’s playoffs.

Although Parker broke free from Payton a couple of times, he couldn’t do it whenever he wanted. Malone spent the night bodying up to Duncan, studying his moves, staying between him and the basket.

Grant did his job as well, helping to limit Duncan to 11 points on 3-for-10 shooting in 26 minutes.

This figured to be a tough weekend for the Laker big men, with Duncan on tap Friday and Jermaine O’Neal coming to town Sunday.

They get the second part of the test Sunday, with O’Neal and the better-than-ever Ron Artest.

Based on Friday’s evidence, you’d have to pronounce the Lakers ready.

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J.A. Adande can be reached at [email protected].