Old Garden Stirs Peeler to Lift Lakers

Anthony Peeler is still young enough to giggle frequently, and as a rookie, he regards every game as a new adventure.

It didn’t matter to him Sunday that Larry Bird had retired or that the parquet floor Peeler walked on is pitted and splintered and not the hallowed ground he had imagined it to be. He was still in Boston Garden, and Peeler felt the force of its mystique.

“You try to say you’re going to go out there and not be nervous and just shoot, but at first, I was pretty nervous,” he said. “Once the game started, I got focused. The fans here are great. They’re really on top of you. It keeps you motivated.”

Inspired by his surroundings, Peeler played an impressive second half in helping the Lakers to a 96-87 victory over the Boston Celtics, giving them a 3-3 record on their trip.

Starting for the first time since Dec. 28 because Byron Scott was sidelined by flu, Peeler scored 16 points in 32 minutes to tie Sedale Threatt for the team lead. Peeler had eight points in the third quarter, making four jump shots that ranged from 14 to 20 feet and padded the Lakers’ lead to 64-55 lead with 7:54 to play.

And when the Celtics came to life in the fourth quarter, led by Reggie Lewis--who had 13 of his game-high 23 points in the second half--Peeler came through again, making a three-pointer that gave the Lakers a 91-81 cushion and deflated the crowd of 14,890.

“I made the decision to start Anthony more on a gut feeling than anything else,” Coach Randy Pfund said after the team’s first victory over the Celtics in four games and first at Boston Garden since Jan. 27, 1991. “The logical decision would have been A.C. (Green), but I just had a feeling.

“I know in the eight years I’ve been with the Lakers, a number of times we haven’t come in here with a full cast. One time it was James Worthy who couldn’t play, and another time it was Mychal Thompson. But we always seem to have guys who can step up.”

Peeler and Green, who had a team-high 12 rebounds and 15 points, made it look like a wise move. Green’s driving layup with 4:12 to play in the first half put the Lakers ahead for good, 44-43, and highlighted a 12-0 run that vaulted them into a 54-49 halftime lead.

“It’s hard and it’s frustrating, but after the game, you look at it and you have to say, ‘We’re an average team, like 16 other teams in the league,’ ” Kevin McHale said after the Celtics’ record fell to 22-21.

“This is a week of reminiscing because of Larry Bird (whose jersey will be retired Thursday), but the NBA is not a game of reminiscing. It’s a game of now and the present.”

The present looks better to the Lakers than it has in a while.

“I see things jelling for the first time,” Threatt said. “The last two games we’ve been really into our running game and rebounding well. If we play like that every night, we’re going to be a tough team.”

First, they have to stop making it tough on themselves. James Worthy sank two of his first three shots but missed his next 11--a streak that ended only because Dee Brown was called for goaltending on a Worthy layup with 1:37 remaining. And Peeler, who had converted 24 consecutive free throws, missed two with 7:58 to play in the third quarter, the Lakers leading, 62-55.

“As soon as I got on the line, I started thinking about it,” Peeler said sheepishly of his streak. “That’s why I missed.”

More important, he didn’t miss an opportunity to further his basketball education.

“I’m still experiencing the NBA right now, so it’s not something like I’ve got to demand to be starting,” he said. “When I come off the bench, it really makes me focused, because on the bench, I’m looking at the game. . . .

“As a team, I think we’re back to the form we were between the 10th and 20th game of the year, and that’s when we were running and not thinking where we needed to be. We were smart with the basketball. Coach is stressing shot selection and being smart, and that’s what we’re doing right now, taking good shots and being smart.”

Laker Notes

Byron Scott, who began feeling ill after his 27-point game Friday at Charlotte, felt better Sunday but was experiencing chills from a mild fever. Although he didn’t play, he had a part in the victory: he touched hands with Peeler at halftime after Peeler told him, ‘Let me touch your wrist because you’ve been hot lately.’ Said Scott, “I told him he should have touched twice and he would have hit those free throws.” Peeler missed five of his six free throws. . . . Vlade Divac scored 13 points and had 10 rebounds in 26 minutes as a reserve. On the trip, he averaged 20 minutes, 10.1 points and 6.7 rebounds, all as a substitute.