Is there anything Shaquille O?Neal cannot do?  Freshly stitched Shaq returned from the Lakers locker room to score 13 of his 23 points to carry L.A. past the San Antonio Spurs 86-80 in Game 1 of their second round series.

It is hard to tell if the Lakers won this game or if the Spurs just let it slip away.  Again missing David Robinson the Spurs had a perfect opportunity to take the came in the third quarter after O'Neal was forced to sit out the final 8:46 of the term with a cut to his right finger.  As he returned to the court at the start of the fourth it was Kobe Bryant who left with a bruised right knee.

?We just let an opportunity get away," Antonio Daniels said. "Period."

Not something you can really afford to do against this team, guys.