SAN ANTONIO (Ticker) -- In the fourth quarter, Karl Malone gave Tim Duncan the third degree.
Malone scored eight of his 16 points in the final period and shut down Duncan as the surging Los Angeles Lakers rallied for a 90-86 victory over the San Antonio Spurs, their third in as many games over the defending NBA champions.
"We just came in and did what we we're supposed to do," sneered Lakers center Shaquille O'Neal. "We played a team we were supposed to beat and we beat them."
Malone was not a member of the Lakers last season, when Duncan destroyed LA's power forwards in the Western Conference semifinals. Signed as a free agent during the offseason, the 40-year-old Malone has helped the Lakers on both ends of the floor.
The Spurs held a 71-62 lead entering the fourth quarter, but Malone made four mid-range jumpers, including one that gave the Lakers an 85-82 lead with 2:28 to play.
"The coaches kept telling me, 'Take your shot. Don't hesitate,'" Malone said. "Shaq said, 'I'll come up and pick for you.' That was the start of it."
"(He) made some plays for us with the basketball, came up with some steals and some big plays defensively," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "He was very instrumental."
The teams traded baskets before Malone rode Duncan off his position in the low post and stole an errant pass in the final minute.
"I knew that down the stretch, out of a timeout, they would run a play to him," Malone said. "It's knowing the guys you're playing. You try to study what guys do. Things that worked for him the whole game, you know they'll run later on."
That led to Gary Payton's free throw that opened an 88-84 advantage with 25 seconds left and effectively sealed LA's seventh straight win.
Duncan scored 30 points on 11-of-20 shooting and grabbed 15 rebounds. But he missed his last five shots, going scoreless from the field in the final period as San Antonio dropped its fourth straight game.
"You make him work so that later in the game he won't have the same lift," Malone said.
"I got two or three open looks down the stretch," Duncan said. "I just wasn't able to knock them in."
Less than six weeks into the season, the Lakers already have clinched the season series against the Spurs. The teams have won the last five NBA titles.
"This win was more satisfying than the one in LA (last week)," Malone said. "We've beaten them twice here now to get the tiebreaker."
Kobe Bryant scored 21 points and O'Neal had 15, 16 rebounds and nine blocks for Los Angeles. Three of O'Neal's blocks came in the fourth quarter, when the Lakers held the Spurs without a basket for nearly the first seven minutes.
"As far as shots blocked and moving his feet, it was an exceptional game for him," Jackson said.
Tony Parker scored 18 points for the Spurs, who blew a 15-point second-quarter lead and have lost four in a row for the first time since January 13-20, 2001.
"This year is different than in years past," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "We've lost a few more games than we want to in this process. It's a different group of guys."
