NBA FINALS : LAKERS vs. CHICAGO BULLS : NOTES : Divac Needs No Help to Understand Job

After having grabbed only 28 rebounds during the six-game NBA Western Conference championship series, Laker center Vlade Divac hauled down 14, a career playoff high, when the Lakers beat the Chicago Bulls, 93-91, in the opening game of the NBA finals Sunday.

Did Magic Johnson, Divac’s personal trainer, motivate Divac to be more aggressive?

“Magic didn’t tell me that,” Divac said. “I know is my job to do that. I have to play really hard and make good rebounds. Rebounds be key of this series.”

Divac also did a good job of checking forward Horace Grant, limiting him to six points.

But Divac, who made five of 11 shots and scored 16 points, has yet to break the bad habit of taking ill-advised shots, such as the 20-foot baseline jump shot he missed with the Lakers trailing, 91-89, in the final minute. The shot earned Divac a seat on the bench next to backup center Mychal Thompson.

“I told Vlade, ‘Nice shot, Greg Kite,’ ” Thompson said. “Little comments like that keep guys loose. After you miss a shot like that you’re kind of down, but if you make a funny comment they chuckle and start relaxing.”

After the series, Divac will join the Yugoslav national team for the European championships next month in Rome.

How do the NBA finals compare to the European championships?

“Regular season and European championship are same,” Divac said. “But NBA playoffs are different. Everybody is crazy in playoffs. They make really hard noise, like yesterday in Chicago Stadium.”

Truth or Dare: With two days to kill until Game 2 of the NBA finals, how will the Lakers stay focused?

“We’re going to see ‘Truth or Dare’ tonight,” Thompson said after Monday’s practice. “Madonna will keep you focused. We’re going to check out Madonna and see what the big deal is all about.

“We’re going to relax. You can’t get all keyed up and tight. We know these are big games, but we know how to turn it off and turn it on. We know how to relax.”

Thompson also hopes that the Lakers can see a special screening of the soon-to-be-released “Terminator 2.”

“I told Magic to use some of his Hollywood contacts so we can get the film shipped to our hotel,” Thompson said. “I told him to . . . have it shipped to our hotel and we can go up to Magic’s room and put in on the VCR and watch it.”

Worn out? Did Michael Jordan wear himself down in Game 1 because he had to check Johnson, in addition to carrying the scoring load?

“In the third quarter I had to catch my wind,” Jordan said. “I went out early with five minutes left in the third quarter so I could be ready for the fourth quarter.”

Trailing, 65-64, when Jordan went to the bench with 4:49 left in the third quarter, Chicago was outscored, 10-4.

Jordan missed two of three shots, committed a turnover and had no rebounds in the third quarter.

“It’s tough to guard (Johnson) and then go down and be expected to carry the load offensively,” Jordan said. “It’s a challenge, but I have to do it.”

Is it too big a load for Jordan?

“He’s been doing it for 82 (regular-season) games and I don’t know how many playoff games,” Johnson said. “He’s used to it. It’s a lot for him, because he has to guard me and score, but I think he wouldn’t want it any other way. We both like more of the pressure than anybody else. We don’t run away from it.”

Jordan also got into foul trouble while trying to check Johnson, picking up five fouls.

“I don’t want to get on the referees, because that can come back to haunt you,” Jordan said. “But I felt a couple of plays I had pretty good defense on him, but they made the (foul) call. That’s going to happen when you got such players as Magic. You’ve got to take your lumps and bruises.”

Bull Coach Phil Jackson said the officials bailed out the Lakers.

“The only thing that bothered me was that every time we stopped them and they got in trouble, Magic rolled into the lane and got fouled,” Jackson said. “They got bailed out.”

Bench woes: The Laker bench, which made a big contribution in the Western Conference finals, wasn’t a factor in Game 1. The Bull reserves outscored the Laker reserves, 18-5, and outrebounded them, 6-4.

A.C. Green, who had energized the Lakers against Portland, had only three points and three rebounds in 16 minutes, and Terry Teagle had two points and one rebound in 10 minutes.

Bull center Will Perdue gave the Bulls a lift, making both of his shots and adding two free throws. He also had four rebounds and a blocked shot in 10 minutes. Guard B. J. Armstrong had six points and three assists in 10 minutes.

Although Johnson is playing in the NBA finals for the ninth time in 12 seasons, the excitement hasn’t worn off for him.

“It’s more special because we’ve got a different team and a different coach,” he said. “Nobody thought we could actually get here without Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar) or probably (Pat) Riley, too.

“It’s more special because nobody thought we could actually be here. Nobody gave us a chance to be here.”