Shaquille O'Neal provided the Orlando Magic with another reason to regret watching him walk away as a free agent.
O'Neal had 33 points and 17 rebounds for his 43rd double-double of the season, and led a late 14-6 run as the Los Angeles Lakers defeated Orlando 95-90 Sunday.
Detroit's Joe Smith, right, tangles with Milwaukee's Ervin Johnson while battling for a rebound. The Bucks won, 100-96, Sunday in Auburn Hills, Mich.
O'Neal, who still owns a home in the Orlando area, has led the Lakers to seven wins in nine games against Orlando since joining Los Angeles before the 1996-97 season.
"It's always fun to come back here and play, to see the articles you guys (reporters) write," said O'Neal, who led the Magic to the NBA Finals in 1995. "I think now this is just another game. If the guys were still here that I played with, then it would be more of a rivalry-type thing. This is a whole new team."
During a three-minute span late in the fourth quarter, O'Neal had eight points. However, he missed two of four free throws during that stretch and was pulled with two minutes remaining and the Lakers leading by nine. O'Neal was 5-for-13 from the line in the second half after a 4-for-5 start.
"Other than the free throws in the second half, I think he (O'Neal) played a great game," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said.
The Magic got 29 points and 10 rebounds from Tracy McGrady, returning from a two-game suspension following a fight with Sacramento's Bobby Jackson on Tuesday. Mike Miller had 18 points but none in the fourth quarter.
Orlando closed within a point, 75-74, with eight minutes to play on Darrell Armstrong's two free throws.
But the Magic came up empty on their next four possessions. In one series, Armstrong missed two three-pointers typical of his 2-for-14 game, which included misses on all six of his three-point attempts.
"You have off nights," said Armstrong, who finished with eight points and eight assists. "I don't think I played a bad game; I just thought I didn't shoot the ball well."
"I thought Darrell rushed a little," Orlando coach Doc Rivers said. "He can get wound up at times, and I thought today was one of those times."
Los Angeles went ahead by 12 points with 4:32 remaining in the third quarter, as O'Neal had six points during a 10-2 Lakers' run. On one of O'Neal baskets, he knocked down Michael Doleac, hit a short jumper, then yelled at the fallen player, "Get up!"
"I try and find my own way to get pumped up," O'Neal said. "I started talking trash to Michael Doleac to get myself pumped up."
Nuggets 98, Nets 84
Denver Raef LaFrentz had 22 points and 11 rebounds, Antonio McDyess added 19 points and nine rebounds and Denver used a 23-0 second-quarter run to defeat the Nets. The Nuggets' second-period flurry produced a 12-point lead which they pushed to 21 in the third quarter, and New Jersey got no closer than 11 after that.
Pacers 101, Kings 95
Indianapolis Reggie Miller scored 24 points, grabbed eight rebounds, became the first NBA player to accumulate 2,000 three-pointers and the 21st player to score 21,000 points in a career. Al Harrington scored 17 points and grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds, and the Indiana defense shut down Sacramento for 4:33 in the fourth quarter as the Pacers rallied from a seven-point third-quarter deficit.
Timberwolves 91, Cavaliers 76
Minneapolis Kevin Garnett had 21 points, nine rebounds and nine assists as Minnesota overcame a sluggish start. The Wolves also got 17 points from Terrell Brandon, and 13 points and 12 rebounds from reserve LaPhonso Ellis. Minnesota, which was 0-for-6 from three-point range in the first half and trailed by as many as eight points, hit all four of its three-pointers in the third quarter.
Bucks 100, Pistons 96
Auburn Hills, Mich. Glenn Robinson scored 24 points and Sam Cassell added 21 as the Bucks capitalized on a poor fourth quarter by Jerry Stackhouse. Stackhouse scored 16 points, 14 under his average, and missed all nine of his field-goal attempts in the fourth quarter as well as two free throws.
Sonics 104, Warriors 99
Oakland, Calif. Ruben Patterson scored six of his 20 points in the final minutes as Seattle held off Golden State for its fifth straight victory. The Sonics kept their playoff hopes alive with their fifth win in eight days, but the undermanned Warriors gave them a challenge before losing their 10th straight game.
Jazz 111, Clippers 96
Los Angeles Karl Malone had 34 points and Donyell Marshall scored 11 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter as Utah beat Los Angeles in Jerry Sloan's 1,000th regular-season game coaching the Jazz. Utah closed within a half-game of idle San Antonio for the best record in the Western Conference following their ninth straight victory over the Clippers and their 18th win in 23 games overall.
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