GAME REPORT

FIRST QUARTER

* IN REVIEW: So, what is this about Shaq’s free-throw phobia? O’Neal promptly came out and made four consecutive free throws in the opening minutes, giving the Lakers an 8-4 lead with 9:14 remaining in the quarter. First lead change: Trail Blazers go up, 17-14, with 3:20 remaining on Arvydas Sabonis’ first three-pointer of the game. Hustle award: Reserve Sean Rooks chased down a loose ball, forced Sabonis into a turnover and got the ball inside to Elden Campbell for an easy basket. The Laker offense rested on the shoulders of two men--O’Neal and Campbell, who combined for 18 of the Lakers’ 22 points. Slacker award: The Lakers’ failure to wander in the vicinity of Isaiah Rider, who probably had enough time to get supermodel Tyra Banks’ autograph before making his three-pointer with 2:20 left.

* LEADING LAKER SCORER: O’Neal 10.

* LEADING TRAIL BLAZER SCORERS: Sabonis 7, Rasheed Wallace 7.

SECOND QUARTER

* IN REVIEW: O’Neal continued to be a one-man force with 21 points and six rebounds in the first half. He went seven for eight from the free-throw line. The shots from the Laker backcourt were few and far between in the first half--Nick Van Exel had only one shot in 18 minutes and Eddie Jones had two shots. The Trail Blazers were slightly more active in the backcourt as Rider and Kenny Anderson combined for 14 points in the first half, but Anderson had no assists.

* LEADING LAKER SCORER: O’Neal 21.

* LEADING TRAIL BLAZER SCORERS: Sabonis 8, Wallace 8.

THIRD QUARTER

* IN REVIEW: The tightness of the first half continued, as the Lakers could not shake the Trail Blazers until they spotted a bit of daylight near the end of the quarter. In the last 30 seconds of the quarter, the Lakers built their biggest lead of the game, 68-60, on two free throws by Jerome Kersey. During the regular season, O’Neal averaged 31 points and 11 rebounds against Portland, but he already had 32 points and nine rebounds through three quarters. O’Neal was 12 for 19 from the field and eight for 10 from the free-throw line. It may not have been the prettiest quarter, but the Lakers managed to scramble through it by committing only one turnover. Through the first three quarters, they had only five turnovers.

* LEADING LAKER SCORER: O’Neal 32.

* LEADING TRAIL BLAZER SCORER: Sabonis 16.

FOURTH QUARTER

The Lakers turned a six-point game into a rout despite a slow start. The Lakers pulled themselves out of some early fourth-quarter trouble--after Portland had reeled off six consecutive points--with their first basket of the quarter, a three-pointer by Van Exel. Intensity arrived, however, with O’Neal’s one-handed fastbreak dunk with 7:22 remaining, giving the Lakers a 73-66 lead. Somehow, it was fitting that O’Neal surpassed his career playoff high of 41 points--not with a dunk, but at the free-throw line. His 41st and 42nd points were from the line and gave the Lakers an 86-75 lead with 3:12 remaining, helping banish the memory of Sunday’s late collapse against the Trail Blazers in the regular-season finale.

* LEADING LAKER SCORER: O’Neal, 46.

* LEADING TRAIL BLAZER SCORERS: Sabonis 18, Wallace 18.