Warriors topple Lakers

By Michael Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

As they say at the first of each month: This was a test. This was only a test.

Laker Shaquille O'Neal, recovering from toe surgery, could hardly bear to watch as his team struggled. Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser

Had this game counted in the standings, the Lakers likely would not have had Peter Cornell handling the ball in the middle of a game-busting 26-7 Warrior run. They might not even have let Golden State rookie Jason Richardson convert a third consecutive Laker turnover into a 360-degree dunk.

As it was, however, the Lakers will leave Hawai'i with an 0-2 preseason record against the suddenly scary Warriors.

Antawn Jamison scored 17 points and Mookie Blaylock 16 to lead the Warriors. Bob Sura added nine points, six assists, three rebounds and two steals.

Lindsey Hunter led the Lakers with 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range. Joe Crispin added 12 points.

"It's a learning process," said Laker assistant coach Jim Cleamons. "And we have a steep learning curve."

Cleamons and fellow assistant Frank Hamblen are leading the team while head coach Phil Jackson is on leave following the death of his mother. The Lakers were also without Shaquille O'Neal, Derek Fisher and Mark Madsen, who are out with injuries, and Brian Shaw, who did not dress for the game.

The Lakers jumped to a quick lead behind newly acquired point guard Hunter, who hit all three of his 3-pointers in the first five minutes as Los Angeles built a 20-8 lead.

Golden State came back in the second quarter behind a withering three-quarter press and the hot shooting of Chris Porter and Chris Mills.

Trailing 38-29, Richardson nailed a 23-footer that started a 16-6 run. Porter and Mills each scored five consecutive points. Porter's ferocious fastbreak slam gave Golden State its first lead of the game, 45-44.

The Warriors kept up the pressure in the second half and outscored the Lakers 38-13 in the third quarter to seal the game.

Laker guard Kobe Bryant looks for an opening in the Warrior defense. Bryant was held to six points in 21 minutes. Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser

"I thought we did a decent job until midway through the second when they went to a pressure unit," Cleamons said. "I guess we could have countered, but we wanted to play players a certain amount of minutes in certain combinations. So when (Golden State) went to a pressure unit — and we haven't practiced that much against pressure ourselves — obviously it showed and we paid the price."

Did they ever. Taking advantage of O'Neal's absence, Warrior post players Jamison, Adonal Foyle, Danny Fortson and Erick Dampier took command of the defensive boards. Defensively, guards Sura and Blaylock, who saw extended minutes when Larry Hughes injured his foot in the first quarter, wreaked havoc on the perimeter with steals and deflections.

The Warriors scored 15 consecutive points, most of them off turnovers, before Devean George stopped the onslaught with two free throws.

The Lakers made just four field goals in the quarter, with more than eight minutes between the first three and Stanislav Medvedenko's jumper from the right, which cut the lead to 80-58 with a minute left in the quarter.

"They went on a run, scored a lot more points than we did and we just never caught up," said Kobe Bryant, who was held to six points in 21 minutes. "I was trying to keep everybody in the offense and see what we could do. It takes a while to learn this offense, and this is to be expected."

Both teams played the deep end of their benches in a meaningless fourth quarter notable only for Richardson's breakaway 360.

Richardson turned in his second impressive game. He finished with 14 points on 4-of-4 shooting, despite intense pressure by Bryant.

"Anytime you play against a guy like Kobe, you're going to learn a lot," Richardson said.

One consolation for Laker fans: Los Angeles went 1-7 in last year's preseason before winning their second consecutive NBA championship.