Lakers 101, Cavaliers 98

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Shaquille O’Neal had 34 points and 23 rebounds and Kobe Bryant scored 32 points as Los Angeles beat Cleveland 101-98 Friday night in the Lakers’ first game since a simmering feud between the team’s two superstars surfaced.

There were no obvious signs of the squabble between O’Neal and Bryant during the game, with the two trading the usual handslaps after baskets and free throws.

The narrow win was the ninth victory in the last 11 games for the defending NBA champion Lakers, who hadn’t played since a 118-95 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers last Sunday.

The Cavaliers, led by Lamond Murray’s 25 points, took the Lakers down to the wire, but O’Neal made five of 10 free throws in the final 3:40 to help Los Angeles maintain the lead, and Bryant made four free throws in the last 21 seconds.

The Cavaliers have lost 10 of their last 12 on the heels of a seven-game winning streak that put them at 15-7.

Andre Miller added 23 points for Cleveland and Chris Gatling had 17.

Rick Fox added 13 points for Los Angeles and Isaiah Rider had 12.

O’Neal did most of the scoring for the Lakers in the first half, with 18 points on 9-of-14 shooting as Los Angeles took a 49-44 lead. The Lakers’ center also had 15 rebounds by halftime.

Bryant took just six shots in the first half. He made two of them and finished with seven points.

The Lakers opened a seven-point lead on Bryant’s 3-pointer on a feed from O’Neal that made it 44-36 with 4:29 left in the second quarter, but Los Angeles could not pull away

Murray kept Cleveland close with 19 first-half points.

Los Angeles was up 27-23 at the end of the opening quarter, moving in front for the first time on O’Neal’s jumper for a 19-17 edge with 3:10 left in the period.

Notes: Los Angeles coach Jackson doesn’t intend to place a gag order on O’Neal and Bryant, saying, “No, this is America. The commissioner says you must talk to people or else you get fined. The interesting thing is that the players had a meeting on their own Monday before any of this even happened, and they pretty much tried to close the circle a little bit and tighten it up.” Twelve of the Cavaliers’ 17 losses have come in the road, where they’ve won just six times. The Lakers already have five home losses this season, matching their total from last season. (Associated Press)