SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - The Sacramento Kings, taking advantage of Kobe Bryant's food poisoning and Shaquille O'Neal's foul problems, defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 96-90 Monday to even the Western Conference finals at a game apiece. <br>
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Chris Webber had 21 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Kings, who overcame O'Neal's highest-scoring game of the playoffs (35 points) and a sloppy contest that included 28 turnovers. <br>
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O'Neal was upset with the refs, who called him for three offensive fouls as the Lakers' NBA-record 12-game road winning streak in the playoffs ended. <br>
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``There's only one way to beat us. It starts with a `C' and ends with a `T.' The real basketball fans understand what's going on here,'' said O'Neal, a white hat pulled low over his eyes. <br>
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When asked to be more specific about his accusation, O'Neal snapped angrily and denied calling anyone a cheat. <br>
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Bryant, who scored 30 points to lead the Lakers to a 106-99 win in Game 1 on Saturday, needed three liters of intravenous fluids before Monday's game after food poisoning left him severely dehydrated. <br>
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``In certain spurts, I had a lot of energy. In some, I didn't. I just tried to pace myself,'' said Bryant, who had 22 points on 9-for-21 shooting. ``Obviously, if I was healthy, I would have played a lot better than I did.'' <br>
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Bryant became ill early Monday morning after eating a bacon cheeseburger and a piece of cheesecake from hotel room service. He lacked his usual spunk and was on the bench for four minutes of the fourth quarter. <br>
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``Next time I want a cheeseburger, I'll just go to McDonald's,'' he said with a grin. ``I was up all night, man. I don't think you guys want to hear the details.'' <br>
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Sacramento hopes to have All-Star forward Peja Stojakovic back from a sprained right ankle for Game 3 Friday in Los Angeles. Game 4 of the best-of-seven series is Sunday in Los Angeles. <br>
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Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals was set for Tuesday night, with the New Jersey Nets at home trying to take a 2-0 lead in their series against the Boston Celtics. <br>
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The Lakers trailed by 15 points with 6:46 in the game and Bryant on the bench. But the Kings made only one shot the rest of the way - a 3-pointer by Mike Bibby, who finished with 20 points - and Los Angeles gradually pulled closer. <br>
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Bryant's long 3-pointer from the wing cut the Kings' lead to 93-90 with 12.5 seconds left, but Webber - who was only 3-for-11 from the foul line - hit one of two foul shots, and the Lakers' Rick Fox missed a 3-pointer. <br>
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``I think we had a lot of chances to put it away and we didn't,'' Bibby said. ``We couldn't buy a basket. I don't know if we tightened up or what.'' <br>
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Bryant committed all three of the Lakers' turnovers in the final period and Los Angeles shot just 6-for-22 in the fourth quarter. The Lakers also struggled in the third quarter, scoring just 17 points. <br>
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``They took it to us tonight with their energy,'' Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. ``Kobe looked like he struggled a bit out there tonight. Energy wise, I thought he was limited.'' <br>
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O'Neal had 28 points by the end of the third quarter, but also had four fouls by then. That softened the middle of the Lakers' defense in the fourth. <br>
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While the Kings still miss Stojakovic, his replacement - Hedo Turkoglu - finally got untracked. Scoreless in Game 1, Turkoglu got his first points of the series a minute before halftime and received a standing ovation from the crowd. He finished with eight points and seven rebounds. <br>
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``We had to win this game,'' said Kings coach Rick Adelman, whose team is 4-0 on the road in the playoffs. ``We feel we can win anywhere. They're going to be tough there, but we've played well on the road.'' <br>
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NOTES: Robert Horry had eight points and a career-high 20 rebounds before fouling out for the Lakers. ... Supporting players Fox, Derek Fisher, Devean George and Samaki Walker were a combined 9-of-32 from the field for Los Angeles. ... O'Neal passed Kevin McHale for 12th place on the NBA's career playoff scoring list. ... It was just the third defeat in 27 playoff games for the Lakers, who hadn't lost on the road since Game 5 of the 2000 NBA Finals. ... Supermodel Tyra Banks, Webber's girlfriend, was among several celebrities in attendance. Lakers owner Jerry Buss sat on the front row, on the opposite end from Kings owners Joe and Gavin Maloof.
