SACRAMENTO VS. LAKERS/ GAME 2 REPORT

FIRST QUARTER: LAKERS 26 SACRAMENTO 25

Highlight reel: There was thunder, lightning, wind, rain and hail in Sacramento. The midday temperature plummeted to 44 degrees. Kobe Bryant was stricken with food poisoning from a bad room service cheeseburger and didn’t sleep a wink. Something was seriously amiss in the roundball world. There was word that Bryant might not play because he was so ill. By game time, he was on the floor and ready to score, looking a step slow, but giving the Lakers all he could, which was plenty after going every second of the opening quarter. He made four of eight shots.

Not in the box score: The name of a reputable food-taster for Bryant for future trips to Sacramento. Seriously, the man can’t be expected to haul around his own meals on the road. If you can’t trust room service, you have to take steps to ensure all is well. Conspiracy buffs will have fun with this one, as they did when Michael Jordan suffered a similar illness before Game 5 of the 1997 Finals against the Utah Jazz.

Winning number: Nine, the team-leading points for Bryant.

Wrong numbers: Eight for 21, the Kings’ shooting.

Leading scorers: Lakers--Bryant 9, Shaquille O’Neal 8; Kings--Doug Christie 8, Vlade Divac 8.

Leading rebounders: Lakers--Robert Horry 7, Bryant 2; Kings--Divac 5, Hedo Turkoglu 3.

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SECOND QUARTER: LAKERS 50 SACRAMENTO 52

Highlight reel: There is no truth to the rumor going around Arco Arena that Hedo is Turkish for “Ofer.” Turkoglu finally made a basket, a perimeter jump shot late in the quarter than ended an 0-for-11 drought to start the series. He’s still not playing well enough for Coach Rick Adelman to keep going to him, but Peja Stojakovic is out indefinitely because of a sprained right ankle. Adelman is out of options. He could have started Bobby Jackson in a three-guard setup but decided against it because it presented matchup problems. There is no one to check Bryant. Jackson gets a great deal of playing time, though, because Turkoglu’s confidence appears to be shot.

Not in the box score: A guess at how bad Bryant must be feeling. He didn’t play poorly, but he didn’t have the same zip he had in Game 1 or in playoff series victories over San Antonio and Portland. It’s obvious that he’s not at his best and Coach Phil Jackson tried to give him as much rest as possible.

Winning number: O’Neal scored 13 consecutive points for the Lakers at one point.

Wrong numbers: Kings were outscored in the paint, 18-4.

Leading scorers: Lakers--O’Neal 15, Samaki Walker 5; Kings--Jackson 11, Mike Bibby 9.

Leading rebounders: Lakers--Horry 5, O’Neal 4; Kings--Chris Webber 4, Divac 3.

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THIRD QUARTER: LAKERS 67 SACRAMENTO 76

Highlight reel: Webber made a jump shot to start the quarter, then another. Christie swished a three-pointer. Suddenly, the Kings were off on a 7-2 run to open the second half and they had some breathing room. Perhaps the play of the quarter (and the game to that point) was Divac’s flop that drew O’Neal’s fourth personal foul with 8.7 seconds remaining in the quarter. Divac claimed not to know what the word meant last week, but if you look up the term in the basketball dictionary, there’s a picture of him embellishing the minimal contact as O’Neal turned to shoot.

Not in the box score: A Laker to halt the Kings, whose best quarter of the series gave them a nine-point lead going into the final quarter. This was a pivotal quarter for the Kings, who simply couldn’t lose and fall behind by two games heading to Staples Center for Game 3 on Friday. Desperate times called for desperate play.

Winning number: 10, Webber’s points for the quarter.

Wrong numbers: The Lakers’ seven-for-20 shooting.

Leading scorers: Lakers--Bryant 6, O’Neal 5; Kings--Webber 10, Divac 6.

Leading rebounders: Lakers--Horry and O’Neal 3; Kings--Divac and Webber 4.

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FOURTH QUARTER: LAKERS 90 SACRAMENTO 96

Highlight reel: Bibby halted a Laker rally that looked as if it was going places midway through the quarter with a critical three-pointer with 2:51 to play. The Kings had gone almost four minutes without a point, knocking a 15-point lead to 89-82 with plenty of time remaining. But Bibby stopped the Laker momentum with one long-range jumper, giving the Kings a 92-82 lead. Without that shot, it was easy to envision the Lakers completing a comeback more impressive than when they erased a 10-point deficit in the final 6:15 of Game 4 of their conference semifinal series victory over the Spurs.

Not in the box score: A Laker basket out of their timeout with 10 seconds to play. Down by 94-90 and looking for a miracle, the best they could get was Rick Fox’s hurried three-point try that was well short of the mark. They needed a better plan at that stage of the game, but the ball never touched Bryant’s hands. Or O’Neal’s.

Winning numbers: The Kings held the Lakers to six-for-22 shooting.

Wrong numbers: 20 rebounds for Horry in the game, but only eight points.

Leading scorers: Lakers--O’Neal 7, Horry 6; Kings--Bibby 7, Jackson 6.

Leading rebounders: Lakers--Horry 5, O’Neal 4; Kings--Webber 4.