Heat 97, Lakers 85

Wednesday November 27, 2002

By STEVEN WINE
AP Sports Writer

MIAMI (AP) When LaPhonso Ellis sank an upset-sealing 3-pointer, he gleefully hopped back up court like a 6-foot-8 pogo stick.

The Miami Heat were plenty happy about their 97-85 victory Tuesday over the Los Angeles Lakers, and with good reason. Beating the three-time defending NBA champions merits prominent mention on the Heat's season highlight reel, which is pretty skimpy so far.

``Maybe it's a breakthrough for us,'' Heat coach Pat Riley said.

Miami caught the Lakers when Shaquille O'Neal was still rusty and Kobe Bryant was battling foul trouble. But since the Heat went in 2-10 and tied for last place in the Atlantic Division, it was still a win to be savored.

``To beat anybody right now is big for us,'' said Eddie Jones, who led the Heat with 18 points. ``It so happened it was the world champions. We'll take it.''

Bryant scored 21 points and O'Neal 15, and both played just 32 minutes. The Lakers fell to 2-1 since O'Neal's return from toe surgery.

``We're not connecting with each other,'' coach Phil Jackson said. ``It's obvious we haven't had enough time with Shaq to have the continuity or the flow.''

O'Neal played a season-high 32 minutes but was too rusty to take advantage of the Heat's undersized front line. He missed 10 of 15 shots, including an uncontested layup and an alley-oop dunk. He was in midseason form only with his free-throw shooting, going 5-for-9.

``He didn't have the same bounce tonight that he had in the other two games,'' teammate Derek Fisher said. ``The energy just wasn't there. It only makes sense that after a while, the adrenaline isn't going to be there where it was before. It's tough for him right now to do this night after night, but he'll get there.''

O'Neal didn't talk to reporters after the game.

``I don't think they went to him as much as they normally do,'' Miami's Brian Grant said. ``But he's going to be there. Give him about 10 more games.''

Bryant was accidentally kicked in the right shin in the final minute and departed for the dressing room, but he's expected to play Wednesday night at Orlando.

Reserves Ellis and Mike James sparked Miami. James scored 14 points and Ellis 13, and both sank key 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. The Lakers bench was outscored 36-8 by Heat reserves.

``I never said we were the deepest team in the world,'' Bryant said.

Los Angeles committed 21 turnovers, missed 12 of 15 3-point shots and lost its sixth road game in a row.

``There were many things we did that were out of character for us, especially the turnovers,'' Jackson said.

The Heat snapped a three-game losing streak and won for the first time in their past six home games.

James' 3-pointer put the Heat up by 13 for the first time, 82-69 with 6:30 left, and he sank another 3-pointer to make it 85-71.

When the Lakers cut a 16-point deficit to 87-78 with 3:18 to go, Ellis stymied the comeback. He sank a 3-pointer that bounced high off the rim before falling through the net.

The Heat matched their season-high point total and surpassed 80 for the first time in four games.

``We're a heart team and a hustle team; we just can't make any shots,'' Riley said with a laugh. ``We're a horrible offensive team. It's nice when some shots go in.''< ^Notes:@ Miami's Caron Butler leads NBA rookies in minutes and is second in scoring, assists, 3-point percentage and free-throw percentage. ... Will Smith, Alex Rodriguez, Livan Hernandez, Ricky Williams, Jim Kelly and Anna Kournikova attended the game. ... The Lakers fell to 0-8 when they trail at halftime. ... O'Neal is 10-for-21 from the free-throw line.

(Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)