Los Angeles forged a tie with Sacramento for first place in the Pacific Division. In actuality, the teams are far from equal.
The Lakers proved that Sunday.
Shaquille O'Neal had 23 points and 15 rebounds as Los Angeles scored 18 straight points in the fourth quarter and beat the Kings 84-72 in a Pacific Division showdown that dissolved into a rout.
The Lakers, playing without the injured Kobe Bryant, earned their sixth straight regular-season victory over Sacramento, moved into a tie for first in the division and earned the tiebreaker edge if the teams finish tied for the division lead. Sacramento (46-22), 28-6 at home, has two games in hand on the Lakers (47-23).
"They couldn't find a rhythm," said Lakers coach Phil Jackson. "They played the game we wanted, and without Webber having a really hot night, that was a big problem."
Sacramento shot 24-for-84 from the field. Chris Webber and Doug Christie each scored 15 points as the Kings had their seven-game home winning streak snapped.
The Lakers limited Sacramento to season-lows in total points, shooting percentage (32 percent) and field goals (27) and left the Kings searching for answers.
"I think everybody knows that's not indicative of how we play," Christie said. "I don't know what happened, but we've got to recover from it. We can't let a game like this get us down."
Sacramento had a 62-53 lead with 11:28 left in the fourth quarter Sunday, but went nearly eight minutes without a point before Vlade Divac hit a pair of free throws with 3:32 left. The Kings made just two of their first 20 shots in the fourth, and missed 15 shots during the scoring drought.
O'Neal, slowed by foul trouble early, was the difference down the stretch. He had a sequence in which he hit two free throws, intercepted a pass at the other end and outran Webber for a breakaway dunk that gave the Lakers an 11-point lead with 2:37 left. He hit five straight free throws in the final minutes.
"We didn't tear it up on offense," said Brian Shaw, who scored 14 points. "They got their open shots, and Webber and (Predrag) Stojakovic got their opportunities, but they weren't falling. It was a combination of our offense and them not making a whole lot of shots."
Rick Fox added 17 points for the Lakers.
The Kings played under assistant coach John Wetzel after Rick Adelman was sent home with the flu.
CELTICS 102, BULLS 98: Paul Pierce scored 13 of his 36 points in the last 3 1/2 minutes, as host Boston moved into a tie for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Celtics and Indiana Pacers each have a 31-38 record with 13 games remaining.
Ron Mercer scored 29 and Elton Brand had 20 points and nine rebounds for the Bulls.
BUCKS 105, HAWKS 98: Ray Allen had 25 points and 11 rebounds, and Sam Cassell added 22 points and 11 assists as host Milwaukee rallied to win its fifth straight.
The Bucks, who trailed by 17 points late in the third quarter, increased their lead to 4 1/2 games over idle Charlotte in the Central Division.
Tim Thomas scored 17 points and Glenn Robinson had 14 for the Bucks, who made 24 of 27 free throws.
Atlanta's Toni Kukoc scored a season-high 31 points, including 19 in the first quarter. Alan Henderson had 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Hawks.
TIMBERWOLVES 105, NETS 91: In Minneapolis, Terrell Brandon scored a career-high 34 points against Stephon Marbury, the player he replaced as Minnesota's point guard.
Brandon shot 15-of-25 from the field and added six assists as the Timberwolves led throughout.
Marbury scored 32 points for New Jersey against his former team, including 20 in the second half. Johnny Newman added 24 for the Nets.
The Timberwolves traded Marbury to the Nets on March 11, 1999, in the same deal that brought Brandon to Minnesota from Milwaukee.
RAPTORS 102, GRIZZLIES 92: Vince Carter scored 24 points as Toronto dealt visiting Vancouver its ninth straight loss in what might have been the final meeting between the Canadian teams.
Vancouver owner Michael Heisley has until Monday to inform the NBA where he wants to move the team. Memphis, Tenn., is the front-runner, with Louisville, Ky., New Orleans and Anaheim, Calif., also possibilities.
Shareef Abdur-Rahim had 26 points for the Grizzlies, who went 0-8 on their road trip.
Toronto's Morris Peterson scored 20 points, Dell Curry had 16 points, and Antonio Davis had 13 points and 14 rebounds.
HEAT 88, SPURS 83: Tim Hardaway scored 20 of his 25 points in the second half as Miami won its fourth straight game.
Hardaway's 3-pointer with 20.7 seconds left gave Miami an 86-81 lead. The Heat point guard, who was 5-for-8 from 3-point range, sealed the victory with a pair of free throws with 10.3 seconds left.
Tim Duncan had 26 points and 14 rebounds for the visiting Spurs, whose three-game winning streak ended. San Antonio, 26-6 since late January, has won nine of 11.
David Robinson added 18 points for San Antonio, which failed to top 90 points for the first time in 14 games.
MAGIC 84, PACERS 82: Orlando's Tracy McGrady had 28 points and eight rebounds, and Indiana's Reggie Miller missed a 3-pointer with 7.3 seconds left.
Orlando and Indiana split four meetings this season with the home team winning each game.
Jermaine O'Neal had 26 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots for Indiana. Jalen Rose had 13 points and Miller 11, but they were a combined 8-of-34 from the field.
Darrell Armstrong and Mike Miller had 14 points each for Orlando.