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LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Despite resorting to the "Hack-a-Shaq" method, the Dallas Mavericks could not snap their lengthy skid against the Los Angeles Lakers. Shaquille O'Neal scored 30 points and grabbed 20 rebounds as the Lakers defeated the Mavericks for the 17th straight time with a 105-97 victory. In an attempt to get back in the game in the fourth quarter, Dallas coach Don Nelson instructed his players to foul O'Neal, a notoriously poor free-throw shooter. The superstar center shot just 6-of-14 from the line over the final 12 minutes but the Mavericks could not get closer than eight points and lost in Los Angeles for the 18th straight time. "Nellie is always doing that stuff," O'Neal said. "He told some guys to foul me and that (stuff) isn't going to work. It's only going to increase my average." "Being the competitor he is, he did what he was supposed to do and made me pay the price by making some free throws," Nelson said. "That's the risk you have to take. It's just a strategy. I don't want to beat him up for anything." O'Neal made 10-of-14 floor shots but was just 10-of-23 from the stripe and is 20-of-51 this season. The 7-2, 320-pound center was ejected from Saturday's loss at Portland when he objected to some rough treatment by throwing the ball at Trail Blazers forward Jermaine O'Neal. O'Neal went 3-for-8 from the line in a 60-second span of the final period but converted both attempts with 3:26 left as the Lakers gained a 99-86 lead. He was taken out 10 seconds later and did not return. "Shaquille is big, he's strong, he's good and he presents challenges for anyone," Mavs center Shawn Bradley said. "We tried a lot of different looks with him and it seemed to work a ton. Sometimes you have to concede him a certain number of points." This was not the first time Nelson tried to get back into a game by fouling a poor shooter. When Dallas visited Chicago on December 29, 1997, Nelson had rookie Bubba Wells repeatedly foul Bulls forward Dennis Rodman in the second quarter. Wells set an NBA record by fouling out in three minutes and Rodman made 9-of-12 free throws. "Don Nelson made the game interesting," said Lakers coach Phil Jackson, who coached the Bulls in that contest. "He finds more ways to bend the rules more than Richard Nixon did as president. We weathered the storm, but it was not pretty. I liked the way we played for the most part." The Lakers opened an 87-66 cushion with 10:01 remaining as O'Neal, Glen Rice and Brian Shaw each scored six points in a 21-5 burst. Rice scored 20 points and Rick Fox added 12 for the Lakers, which shot 47 percent (40-of-86) from the floor. Ex-Maverick A.C. Green grabbed nine rebounds as Los Angeles gained a 51-42 advantage on the boards. "For the most part, I think after losing to Portland, coming back to win at home is important to us," Rice said. "Early on when we built a lead, we had a lot of early energy. We established that we were ready to play tonight." Los Angeles outscored Dallas 17-3 in second-chance points and has not lost to Dallas since April 5, 1995. Michael Finley scored 29 points on 10-of-21 shooting and Dirk Nowitzki added 20 points for the Mavericks, who shot 43 percent (35-of-82) and remained winless in Los Angeles since December 12, 1990. Rice scored five points in a 12-0 spurt as Los Angeles opened a 27-14 lead with 1:41 left in the first quarter. Finley scored 12 points in the second quarter as Dallas cut the halftime deficit to 52-45. Shaw scored four points in an 8-0 run late in the third quarter to open a 75-61 advantage.
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