The Ball Is in O’Neal’s Court

Shaquille O’Neal wants the basketball. Kobe Bryant suggested he should come get it and Phil Jackson said he’s getting it plenty.

That ought to keep everybody loose.

In Game 5, O’Neal took 11 shots and 11 free throws in 42 minutes. The Lakers lost, 98-96, and then O’Neal implied he’d need the ball more.

This could be a device to draw attention from his failure at the line, where he made five of 11 and has again fallen off after a brief dalliance with marksmanship. Had O’Neal made eight of 11, the Lakers might have won. Had he made all three in the fourth quarter, instead of one, they might have tied, at least.

But O’Neal has been consistent in his belief that the offense is better when it runs through him, win or lose, free throws good or errant, and he had an ally Saturday night, when TNT analyst and Laker Vice President Magic Johnson said, “You always know if the Lakers are going to win or not, if you see how many touches Shaq gets. And Shaq didn’t touch the ball much in the game tonight. ... The other guys can’t play, unless Shaq gets them involved.�

While Jackson always agrees that O’Neal should direct the offense and sometimes agrees that O’Neal is being left out, this time he insisted O’Neal was involved enough.

“We got the ball into Shaq,� he said, adding later, “he wasn’t as energized as he was in the games at home, and that’ll happen.�

As a result, Jackson said, O’Neal failed to convert opportunities for three-point plays by failing to make the layup and then missing one or both of the free throws.

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The Timberwolves suspect that 40-year-old Karl Malone will tire chasing Kevin Garnett for 40 minutes, particularly if Garnett carries the ball up the floor, and the thought has crossed Jackson’s mind.

“I’m somewhat concerned about it,� he said. “He assures me he’s fine.�

Malone, in so many words, said Sunday that he was not fatigued and welcomed the challenge.

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Apparently it’s not personal anymore.

It was Jackson’s contention after Game 2 that the Western Conference finals had become so, in part because Derek Fisher was dropped a couple times by hard picks and last left Minneapolis with a black eye.

But by Saturday night, an hour after the Timberwolves defeated the Lakers to force Game 6, Lakers and Timberwolves gleefully met outside the Laker bus, sharing cheerful conversation.

Latrell Sprewell, whose blindside screen left Fisher on the floor at midcourt in Game 2, was greeted with a hug. Gary Trent and Sam Cassell laughed in a group of Lakers.

Not everyone joined in. Malone passed among them with his eyes down and boarded the bus.

Fisher, the last player out of the locker room, also declined to socialize.