While the game was decisively lost, the Milwaukee Bucks came away from their 104-85 beating by the Los Angeles Lakers last Tuesday with hope that they may have done something to possibly create a competitive series should the teams meet in the National Basketball Association Finals.

Though the Bucks did not stop Shaquille O'Neal, they figured him out to a point where the big guy was bottled up and occasionally frustrated. Enveloping Shaq with a collapsing zone, the Bucks held him to 19 points on just 14 shots, which should have been enough to beat the Lakers had Ray Allen not allowed Kobe Bryant to go off in the fourth quarter.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson dismissed the Bucks' scheme, saying he successfully adjusted at halftime by sending O'Neal back on the floor as a $208 million decoy. Maybe so. But the plan against Shaq seemed sound enough that Bucks coach George Karl was surprised that no one had really tried it before.