ATLANTA, March 2 (UPI) -- Gary Payton and Shaquille O'Neal missed easy potential game-winners in the waning seconds Tuesday as the LA Lakers suffered a 94-93 loss to Atlanta.
The Lakers were without Kobe Bryant, who spent Monday and Tuesday at a pretrial hearing in Colorado, where he faces a felony rape charge. His last five games featured three contests of at least 35 points and a triple-double.
With Bryant in the lineup, the Lakers had rolled to wins in the first two games of their four-game road trip.
Jason Terry pulled Atlanta into a 93-93 tie with a jumper with 54 seconds to go, then made 1-of-2 free throws after a similar play with 11 seconds left.
Payton, who had a triple-double, missed an open 10-footer snd O'Neal, who had 23 points and 14 rebounds, missed a pair of follow shots before time expired.
