In a game in which Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant didn't do a lot, the Los Angeles Lakers showed why they still might be the team to beat in the NBA playoffs.
O'Neal had 19 points, 14 rebounds and a spectacular one-handed slam, Gary Payton added 16 points, and the Lakers held New Jersey to 51 points in the first three quarters in posting a 100-83 win on Sunday in East Rutherford, N.J.
"Everybody is starting to come around," Bryant said after the Lakers won for the ninth time in 11 games. "It just takes some time for everybody to get into the flow of things. This is the type of effort that you'll see with everybody contributing."
It wasn't the type of game coach Phil Jackson was expecting.
The Nets had won 15 of 16, including 14 of 15 since Lawrence Frank replaced Byron Scott as coach of the two-time defending Eastern Conference champions.
This was supposed to be a challenge, especially with Karl Malone still sidelined.
It turned out to be a laugher that sent the sellout crowd home early.
"I kept telling the players as we went through the game that it is much easier than it's supposed to be," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "Get ready for the charge the Nets are going to lay on you. We never got it. They had an off game and we played a relatively good game."
The Lakers never trailed in winning their fifth straight road game. They blew it open in the third quarter, leading by as many as 26.
"If we can develop a consistent way to play, we'll be a hard team to beat," O'Neal said. "Tonight we played very, very well. Everybody was involved. We played good defense. If we can play like this our last 24 games, we're going to be a hard team to beat in the playoffs."
Richard Jefferson had 19 points to lead New Jersey in what was the first embarrassing loss of Frank's coaching career. It was his second defeat in three games after winning his first 13 games.
"The Lakers were just better than us tonight," Frank said.
Kenyon Martin added 11 points and Jason Kidd had 10 points and just three assists while playing 28 minutes with a bruised knee. The Nets' big three combined to go 13-of-28 from the field in seeing a nine-game home winning streak end.
"We missed a lot of bunnies," said Kidd, who plans to have an MRI on his left knee on Monday. He hopes to play Tuesday against Denver.
Payton came out with a point to prove. The veteran point guard who signed with Los Angeles over the summer was quoted in recent days as disappointed with his decision to come to the Lakers. He said the triangle offense limited some of the things he does well, and he wasn't happy with his playing time.
On the Lakers' second possession, he drove the lane for a basket. He got fouled on the next trip, hitting two free throws for a 4-0 lead. Payton set up a basket by Bryant, hit another drive and finished the quarter with 10 points in helping Los Angeles take a 26-17 lead.
The Lakers increased the margin to 14 at the half and then they blew away the Nets, outscoring New Jersey 22-8 in the closing minutes of the third quarter.
The play everyone will remember was Payton leading a break and passing to Bryant, who found O'Neal on the left side of the lane. O'Neal took the alley-oop pass with an extended left hand and slammed it home. He walked upcourt staring at his extended left hand, admiring it.
CELTICS 91, RAPTORS 82: At Toronto, Paul Pierce scored 12 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter, helping Boston beat Toronto and hand the Raptors their season-worst ninth straight loss.
Jiri Welsch added 15 points for the Celtics, who ended a seven-game losing streak with a victory over Toronto on Friday.
BUCKS 108, HEAT 104: At Milwaukee, Michael Redd scored 27 points, and Desmond Mason added 21, helping the Milwaukee Bucks win their third straight.
PISTONS 100, CLIPPERS 88: At Los Angeles, Chauncey Billups scored 28 points, and Richard Hamilton added eight of his 21 points in the last seven minutes to help the Detroit Pistons win their fourth straight.
Ben Wallace recorded his 30th double-double of the season, finishing with 13 points and 13 rebounds for Detroit, which overcame the poor shooting of Rasheed Wallace and the ejection of coach Larry Brown.
SUPERSONICS 97, ROCKETS 80: At Houston, Rashard Lewis scored 12 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter and the Seattle SuperSonics rallied after squandering an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter and snapped a three-game losing streak.
76ERS 81, TIMBERWOLVES 74: At Philadelphia, Aaron McKie had 18 points to lead the Sixers, who snapped a four-game skid despite playing without injured stars Allen Iverson and Glenn Robinson.
NUGGETS 107, KNICKS 96: At Denver, Carmelo Anthony had 25 points and Voshon Lenard added 16 as the Nuggets ended a five-game losing streak. New York has dropped six in a row.
KINGS 108, SUNS 94: At Sacramento, Peja Stojakovic scored 32 points and the Kings never trailed. Brad Miller, sidelined the previous seven games with a sprained right foot, had 16 points and 10 rebounds.