For the Los Angeles Lakers, it was the game of the year -- a performance they'd love to repeat.
As for the San Antonio Spurs, maybe they were just due for a clunker.
Whatever the case, Sunday's 105-81 romp was simply one win for the Lakers and one loss for the Spurs in their Western Conference semifinals, leaving San Antonio with a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Game 4 will be played Tuesday.
"They're still in the driver's seat -- we just want to tie it up," Lakers forward Karl Malone said Monday.
"Their key guys didn't have a good game," teammate Shaquille O'Neal said. "I expect them to have a better game tomorrow."
The Spurs couldn't play much more poorly if they tried, having shot 34.1 percent and committing 21 turnovers in Game 3.
That's only a part of it.
"Our defense was very soft," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.
"We played as if we thought somebody was going to give us something. I was really disappointed."
But Popovich and his players made one thing clear -- it wasn't just them.
"They helped us lay that egg. I thought the whole [San Antonio] team was discombobulated," Popovich said.
"We know we're playing a great team," said Robert Horry, who joined the Spurs this season after six and a half seasons with the Lakers. "We know we had a bad game, a really bad game -- part due to us, part due to them."
O'Neal was at his dominating best with 28 points, 15 rebounds and eight blocked shots. He shot 11-of-13, leading the Lakers to a 56.9 percent effort from the floor.
"When we're playing like that, nobody's going to beat us," O'Neal said. "I urged my teammates to keep me involved. If they keep me involved, I'll lead us -- I sure will."
Asked why the Lakers have had such a difficult time sustaining the kind of intensity they displayed Sunday, O'Neal was at a loss for words.
"I don't know, I don't know," he finally said.
Malone, Kobe Bryant and Gary Payton also were exceptional at both ends of the court in Game 3.
"The intensity was great. We have to bring more technique to it," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "You always have to play with some great intensity on defense. We've been building toward that in the playoffs."
San Antonio stars Tim Duncan and Tony Parker combined for 104 points in the first two games. Game 3 was a much different story. Duncan shot 4-of-14 while scoring 10 points and Parker was 4-of-12 for eight points.
"I'm not one that likes to lose. I was a big part of us losing yesterday," Duncan said. "It's very disappointing. It's a lot about execution. They made some tweaks in their game plan, and they executed very well. They took Tony and myself out of it."
The loss snapped the Spurs' 17-game winning streak and was their first loss since March 23.
"That's a long run, and we played some good teams," Horry said.
So, were they due?
"You hate to say that, but it might be true," Duncan said.
"They were due for a loss, we were due to play better," Lakers forward Rick Fox said.
"Everybody wants to make amends for the poor showing," San Antonio's Bruce Bowen said.
The Lakers practiced Monday without Kobe Bryant, who began three days of pretrial hearings in Eagle, Colorado, on his sexual assault case.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and