Lakers own line, end road losing streak

NEW YORK — Karl Malone was one of three Lakers to make more free throws than the Knicks attempted, helping Los Angeles end its three-game road losing streak with a 104-83 victory over New York on Wednesday night.

The Lakers had a whopping 47-6 edge in free throw attempts in a game that featured 53 fouls — 34 on the Knicks.

Malone had 17 points and 14 rebounds, Shaquille O'Neal had 23 points and Kobe Bryant added 21 as the Lakers won with ease against a Knicks team that was short-handed to begin with — Keith Van Horn sat out with a sprained ankle — and was further depleted by the referees' frequent whistles.

The Lakers were 37-for-47 from the line, while New York was 6-for-6.

The Knicks got into immediate foul trouble, with Allan Houston, Kurt Thomas and Dikembe Mutombo each picking up two personals within the first 5 1/2 minutes. Houston had three fouls before the first quarter ended, but Frank Williams did a nice job filling in by scoring 10 points in the second quarter as New York trailed just 51-49 at halftime.

Jackson was angry with his team over its shot selection, just as he was a night before when the Lakers played poorly throughout the second half of a loss at Detroit

"I'm was not happy with them and they were not happy with themselves," Jackson said beforehand. "Maybe I put it in their heads when I said the road is going to be tough."

The Lakers righted themselves in the third quarter, beginning to pull away after Thomas picked up his fourth foul just 1:49 into the period along with a technical foul for complaining.

Two free throws by Gary Payton completed a 20-8 run and gave the Lakers a 76-61 lead as the Knicks were getting nothing offensively from anyone. Shandon Anderson even had an airball from the right corner on a wide-open 3-point attempt.

Malone helped finish off the Knicks in the early part of the fourth quarter, scoring four points and grabbing four rebounds while failing to get credited with what should have been at least two assists. Derek Fisher's layup off a pass from Malone made it 94-75 with 4:55 left, ending any suspense for a subdued crowd that booed Bryant only minimally.

Williams led the Knicks with a career-high 14 points.

HORNETS 81, CELTICS 73: At Boston, Baron Davis scored 17 points, and P.J. Brown added 12 points and 16 rebounds as New Orleans beat Boston for its fourth straight victory.

Walter McCarty's layup drew the Celtics to 74-71 with 1:14 remaining, but George Lynch sealed the game with a three-point play when David Wesley passed through three defenders and hit a cutting Lynch under the basket.

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