Vancouver, British Columbia — The Los Angeles Lakers ditched their running game and went to Shaquille O'Neal.
O'Neal scored 34 points and grabbed 13 rebounds Saturday as the Lakers beat Vancouver, 98-88, Saturday before 19,193 fans, the first sellout of the season in Vancouver.
"We have a semi-old team," O'Neal said. "We don't have a young team no more. And most teams we play are younger. We have to be smarter. We're like a young Utah."
O'Neal was 13-for-19 from the field and 8-of-12 from the line as the Lakers made it four straight over the Grizzlies this season, sweeping the series, including a controversial 113-112 victory in Los Angeles when O'Neal rebounded a miss and scored at the buzzer on Jan. 15.
The Grizzlies shot 39.1 percent.
"Obviously, Vancouver had some trouble shooting the ball today," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "They had a lot of shots in the first half and too much pace on the ball, so we had to slow it down a little bit in the second half. In doing so, we got Shaq some good looks and he finished."
In his second game since returning from a sprained right ankle, Kobe Bryant had 20 points, but committed seven turnovers. Horace Grant finished with 15 points and 15 rebounds and the Lakers improved to 38-19.
"When they double team Shaq and Kobe, they just hit me with the ball and I'm wide open and they basically don't rotate to me," Grant said. "If I have open shots, more than likely I'll hit it."
The Grizzlies were led by Michael Dickerson's 22 points. Eric Strickland had 13 points and Mahmoud-Rauf 12 points.
Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Mike Bibby scored a combined 16 points on 8-of-31 shooting as Vancouver lost its sixth straight. Abdur-Rahim was ejected after drawing his second technical foul with 1:44 remaining and the Grizzlies trailing 94-83. He finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds, but did not go to the line.
Bucks 126, Bulls 122, 2 OT
Milwaukee Sam Cassell scored a career-high 40 points, including a three-pointer to send the game into a second overtime, as Milwaukee edged Chicago. Glenn Robinson added 31 points and Ray Allen had 27 for the Bucks, who snapped a two-game losing streak.
Elton Brand scored a season-high 31 and Fred Hoiberg added a career-high 28 for the Bulls, who nearly pulled off their second upset in two days. They beat the New York Knicks 81-72 Friday night.
The game was tied at 95 after regulation and at 110 after the first overtime, which ended with Cassell's biggest basket of the night. He grabbed a long rebound, spun around and got behind the three-point line and swished it at the buzzer.
Trail Blazers 122, Warriors 91
Portland, Ore. Steve Smith and Bonzi Wells each scored 18 points as Portland clinched its 12th straight winning season. Damon Stoudamire scored 12 of his 17 points in the third quarter, Detlef Schrempf had 11 rebounds and Shawn Kemp added 14 points in his third straight strong game for the Blazers.
Spurs 124, Hawks 95
San Antonio Tim Duncan scored 26 points and David Robinson had 16 points and 15 rebounds to lead San Antonio over Atlanta. The Spurs set season highs for points in a game and points in half, scoring 66 points in the second half.
The Spurs pulled away with a steady 21-7 advantage in the first seven minutes of the third quarter, increasing their lead to 79-59.
Suns 97, Nuggets 82
Phoenix Clifford Robinson scored 20 points to lead five players in double-figures as the Phoenix Suns rallied to beat the Denver Nuggets 97-82 Saturday night. Tom Gugliotta had 19 points and Rodney Rogers added 18 for the Suns, who snapped a two-game losing streak. Jason Kidd finished with seven points and a season-high 19 assists.
Mavericks 100, Rockets 95
Dallas Michael Finley scored 27 points and Dirk Nowitzki had 26 points and 13 rebounds as Dallas beat Houston for only the third time in the last 19 meetings.
Finley's two free throws with 11.6 seconds left gave Dallas a 98-93 lead, icing Dallas' third straight victory and sixth in eight games.
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