LOS ANGELES After initial win, Lakers looking to catch, pass Spurs

The critical Game 4 is tonight at the Staples Center.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- For the Los Angeles Lakers, it was the game of the year -- a performance they'd love to repeat.
As for the San Antonio Spurs, maybe they were just due for a clunker.
Whatever the case, Sunday's 105-81 romp was simply one win for the Lakers and one loss for the Spurs in their Western Conference semifinals, leaving San Antonio with a 2 games to 1 lead in the series.
Game 4 is tonight.
"They're still in the driver's seat -- we just want to tie it up," Lakers forward Karl Malone said Monday.
"Their key guys didn't have a good game," teammate Shaquille O'Neal said. "I expect them to have a better game [tonight]."
Poor showing
The Spurs couldn't play much more poorly if they tried, having shot 34.1 percent and committing 21 turnovers in Game 3.
That's only a part of it.
"Our defense was very soft," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "We played as if we thought somebody was going to give us something. I was really disappointed."
But Popovich and his players made one thing clear -- it wasn't just them.
"They helped us lay that egg. I thought the whole [San Antonio] team was discombobulated," Popovich said.
"We know we're playing a great team," said Robert Horry, who joined the Spurs this season after 6 1/2 seasons with the Lakers. "We know we had a bad game, a really bad game -- part due to us, part due to them."
O'Neal finished with 28 points, 15 rebounds and eight blocked shots. He shot 11-of-13, leading the Lakers to a 56.9 percent effort from the floor.
"When we're playing like that, nobody's going to beat us," O'Neal said. "I urged my teammates to keep me involved. If they keep me involved, I'll lead us -- I sure will."
Asked why the Lakers have had such a difficult time sustaining the kind of intensity they displayed Sunday, O'Neal was at a loss for words.
"I don't know, I don't know," he finally said.
Malone, Kobe Bryant and Gary Payton also were exceptional at both ends of the court in Game 3.
"The intensity was great. We have to bring more technique to it," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "You always have to play with some great intensity on defense. We've been building toward that in the playoffs."
Production down
San Antonio's Tim Duncan and Tony Parker combined for 104 points in the first two games. Game 3 was a much different story. Duncan shot 4-of-14 while scoring 10 points and Parker was 4-of-12 for eight points.
"I'm not one that likes to lose. I was a big part of us losing yesterday," Duncan said. "It's very disappointing. It's a lot about execution. They made some tweaks in their game plan, and they executed very well. They took Tony and myself out of it."
The loss snapped the Spurs' 17-game winning streak and was their first loss since March 23.
"That's a long run, and we played some good teams," Horry said.
So, were they due?
"You hate to say that, but it might be true," Duncan said.
"They were due for a loss, we were due to play better," Lakers forward Rick Fox said.
"Everybody wants to make amends for the poor showing," San Antonio's Bruce Bowen said.