Shaq Won’t Lighten Up in Feud With Walton

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Shaquille O’Neal stepped around Bill Walton in the cramped locker room at the Rose Garden, and spat a profanity at him.

For days O’Neal had groused about comments Walton, the out-there ESPN broadcaster, had made about his weight.

On Wednesday night, face to face with the Hall of Fame center, O’Neal growled at Walton, “I ain’t no peon. You better watch your mouth.”

Walton, interviewing Kobe Bryant, did not respond. Later, Walton said, “All I ask the players is to listen to what I say, not what someone told them I said.”

Walton’s point, he said, was that O’Neal’s foot and toe injuries might not be so severe if O’Neal were lighter, and that he’d be a better player as well.

O’Neal said he weighs 342 pounds and his body fat is 17%. Recovering from Sept. 11 toe surgery, he recently began a light running program.

“He talks too much,” O’Neal said. “Don’t act like you’re my friend and then talk derogatory about me.”

*

The luxury tax is coming and, as currently configured, with 14 players and a payroll of about $63 million, the Lakers could be more than $10 million beyond the threshold.

Owner Jerry Buss previously had been adamant about living within the means defined by the luxury tax for what he called the fiscal health of the game. He laughed when asked how he settled in his mind the spike in salaries.

“It’s more about settling it in my pocketbook,” he said, smiling, on opening night. “I cry. I try to borrow money from Kobe and Shaq.

“The situation is this: I’m pretty well geared to live by those rules, because quite honestly there won’t be a game without those rules. The thing that threw a wrench into the works was that television revenues decreased instead of increased at their normal rate.... We were out there on a limb and we had no choice. I really could not see letting Devean George go.”

Said George: “That’s good, because I didn’t want to go.”

*

Bryant, who wore Nike shoes in six of eight exhibition games, has worn Nike in both regular-season games. He does not have a shoe contract and is believed to be considering Reebok along with Nike.... O’Neal and his girlfriend, Shaunie, are expecting a boy in May. It would be the couple’s third child together. Bryant and his wife, Vanessa, are expecting a girl in February.

*

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

TRAIL BLAZERS 102, LAKERS 90

*--* *--*

*--* LAKERS Min FG-A FT-A OR-T A P T George...31 3-8 0-0 1-5 5 1 7 Horry...27 4-9 4-5 0-1 2 3 12 Walker...22 2-6 1-2 3-4 1 0 5 Bryant...37 9-18 4-4 1-10 2 3 25 Fisher...25 2-8 0-0 0-0 3 2 5 Samake...17 4-6 2-2 3-7 2 0 10 Medvedenko...23 6-13 3-4 6-9 2 5 15 Murray...7 0-1 0-0 1-1 0 1 0 Shaw...20 2-5 0-0 0-2 2 4 4 Pargo...21 0-5 0-0 0-0 4 2 0 Rush...10 3-6 0-0 0-2 1 0 7

*--*

*--* Totals 35-85 14-17 15-41 24 21 90

*--*

Shooting: Field goals, 41.2%; free throws, 82.4%

Three-point goals: 6-21 (Bryant 3-7, Rush 1-2, Fisher 1-3, George 1-3, Murray 0-1, Pargo 0-1, Horry 0-2, Shaw 0-2). Team Rebounds: 12. Blocked Shots: 6 (Bryant 2, Walker 2, Medvedenko, Murray). Turnovers: 19 (Horry 4, Pargo 4, Bryant 3, Shaw 2, Medvedenko 2, Murray 2, Walker, Rush). Steals: 8 (Horry 4, Bryant 2, Fisher, Pargo). Technical Fouls: Horry, 6:21 second.

*--* PORTLAND Min FG-A FT-A OR-T A P T Wells...34 3-11 1-2 5-7 3 4 7 Wallace...32 10-23 6-8 4-6 0 3 28 Davis...25 2-3 0-0 2-5 0 3 4 Anderson...28 3-9 0-0 0-2 4 2 6 Stoudamire...27 7-12 0-0 1-6 6 1 16 Patterson...22 1-7 3-7 4-5 1 3 5 McInnis...21 3-5 1-1 0-1 2 3 7 Daniels...20 2-3 6-8 0-4 4 0 10 Sabonis...10 3-5 0-0 2-7 2 1 6 Pippen...10 3-3 3-4 1-2 1 0 9 Randolph...6 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Woods...5 2-3 0-0 0-1 0 0 4

*--*

*--* Totals 39-85 20-30 19-46 23 20 102

*--*

Shooting: Field goals, 45.9%; free throws, 66.7%

Three-point goals: 4-8 (Wallace 2-2, Stoudamire 2-4, Wells 0-1, Anderson 0-1). Team Rebounds: 10. Blocked Shots: 3 (Davis 2, Sabonis). Turnovers: 14 (Wells 3, Anderson 3, Stoudamire 2, Davis 2, McInnis 2, Wallace, Daniels). Steals: 14 (Anderson 3, Pippen 2, Daniels 2, McInnis 2, Stoudamire, Wells, Patterson, Davis, Sabonis).

*--*

Lakers 23 17 21 29 -- 90 Portland 21 39 24 18 -- 102

*--*

A--20,225. T--2:16. O--Ron Garretson, Monte McCutchen, Gary Zielinski.