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No Defense for Scoring Barrage

LOS ANGELES - Your new NBA was in full bloom Monday night at Staples Center.

The Miami Heat and the Lakers played a game of First Team to 120 Points Wins.

These days, up-tempo is in.

Grinding defense is out.

Three-point proficiency is huge.

Banging the ball inside to giant bullies is for the weak-kneed.

The game went into overtime, but not before both teams had blown by the 100-point mark midway through the fourth quarter.

The Lakers won the contest, presumably needing more ice for their
shooting elbows than Miami, after the scoreboard finally spun to a stop at 124-118.

The Lakers would appear to have had the edge coming in, averaging more than 104 points a game this year to Miami's 95. But without two of
their more imposing frontcourt players, Kwame Brown and Lamar Odom, the Lakers are thinking more about outscoring teams than defending them these days anyway.

So the Heat was free to run, too. Heck, almost everybody is.

As is becoming more and more apparent, high-octane basketball
especially fits the Lakers.

"It suits us well because we have so many guys who can score the ball,"
said Smush Parker, who had 17 points, one of seven Lakers in double
figures. "Kobe (Bryant) can get 50 any night, but Bryan Cook, Luke Walton, myself -- a lot of guys -- can shoot.

"We can get out and run, too, and get easy baskets."

They were getting the hard ones Monday, too, hitting a ridiculous 14 of
25 from three-point range, with Smush Parker nailing 5 of 7.

That made it a bad night for the hungry. One fast-food chain promised
two free tacos to any ticket holder -- if the Lakers held Miami to fewer than 90 points.

The taco dinner disappeared less than two minutes into the fourth quarter, down the drain with Antoine Walker's jump hook.

Technically, Miami is the reigning NBA champion. So Monday's win joins
some of the other gems in the Lakers' increasingly impressive collection of victories over the likes of elites Phoenix, San Antonio, Dallas and Utah.

In reality, the Heat hasn't been so hot until recently. It seems to be suffering through Laker-itis 2004-05, a condition related to sudden Shaquille O'Neal withdrawal.

After O'Neal underwent knee surgery in November, the champs played themselves straight into the subterranean depths of the Eastern Conference, which isn't easy to do considering the relative ineptness of the competition.

Relying on one superstar to bail it out of its predicament (sound familiar?), Miami failed miserably. The more Dwyane Wade scored, the less it seemed to matter. The Heat lost more than it won, snapping out of its funk on rare occasions -- the most notable moment being an inspired Christmas Day win at home over the Lakers, presumably to honor Shaq, who sat on the bench and cheered.

It has regained some respectability lately, winning four consecutive games on the road before Monday's loss left it at 17-20 for the season.

Win or lose, it seems to be getting with the NBA program, too. The loss
to the Lakers was its fourth consecutive game scoring more than 107 points.

In the 11 NBA games played Monday, half the teams scored at least 100. No one scored fewer than 86. If the Lakers and Heat thought they were guiltless shooters, all they had to do was check the scoreboard for
inspiration: Phoenix beat Memphis, 137-122.

The NBA may be in a scoring renaissance, but some truths remain intact.

High-point man doesn't always win.

Wade scored 35 points Monday to lead the feeding frenzy. But the Lakers' high-scoring star, Bryant, got the last laugh -- the win -- by being
the more patient player while scoring 25. Bryant scored six straight points in the last few minutes of regulation, and outpointed Wade in overtime, 6-4.

Both superstars had eight assists, proving that you don't have to take every shot in this new, trigger-happy scene.

Everyone gets his in this sport, now that things don't get interesting until someone cracks 100.

The Lakers' Cook matched Bryant for team scoring honors Monday night, and fully endorsed the way the team is playing these days. Defense is nice, but you don't have to be shy when there's a ball and a basket in sight.

"It's a lot more fun," said Cook of the free-wheeling offense. "Everyone's getting shots, and everyone's making them. It's contagious."

The only losers are the people counting on tacos.

See more at www.pe.com