Peeler Helps Lakers Rally to Beat the Clippers, 111-108 : Pro basketball: He has 26 points and a career-high nine rebounds as an 11-point deficit is overcome.

No matter what bad things have happened to the Lakers already and what bad things will happen the rest of the way, no matter the problems scoring and rebounding, no matter the losing streaks, they will always have something positive from 1993-94.

They will always have the Clippers.

“And no matter what,” Laker Sedale Threatt said, “you want to be the best team in L.A.”

The Lakers guaranteed that much Friday night, when Anthony Peeler had 26 points, a career-high nine rebounds and a couple of big plays down the stretch, and Vlade Divac added 15 points and 16 rebounds in a 111-108 victory over the Clippers at the Forum to clinch the season series after only three games.

Playing the Clippers was motivation enough, but more was forthcoming. Coach Randy Pfund getting ejected with 8:49 left in the third quarter inspired his players. Clipper Mark Jackson going into his signature jiggle only increased it.

“They had a lot of confidence against us,” Clipper Coach Bob Weiss said. “We played a great basketball game at times, but at the end, they smelled blood.”

Winning for only the second time in 20 games when trailing entering the fourth quarter, the Lakers rallied from an 11-point deficit in the third period to take the lead when Peeler intercepted Jackson’s careless pass and went in alone for a slam dunk with 3:57 remaining. When the Clippers went back ahead, it was Peeler again who made the big play, making a three-pointer from the right side over a charging Danny Manning with 25 seconds left for a 108-106 lead.

“I saw him coming at me,” Peeler said of Manning. “But I also could hear Sedale (Threatt) yelling, ‘Shoot it.’ ”

So he did.

The Clippers brought the ball upcourt, then called a timeout with nine seconds remaining. Their shot at a tie was Manning’s 13-footer from the baseline, which fell short off the rim. Doug Christie got the rebound, was fouled immediately and made both free throws for a 110-106 lead with three seconds to go.

A layin by Manning with 1.9 seconds remaining closed the gap to 110-108, before one free throw by Elden Campbell gave the Lakers their final margin of victory.

Seeking to avoid a season-long four-game losing streak, the Clippers used a 14-0 run to take a 48-38 lead late in the second quarter. When Mark Aguirre finished the half with two more baskets for the Clippers, including a three-point play with the help of a free throw, the the Clipper lead was 53-42.

Aguirre was a big factor, scoring 14 points off the bench to complement Ron Harper’s 15. But so was the Clippers’ committing only five turnovers, after having 17 in the same stretch the game before against Seattle.

Meanwhile, the Lakers, who began the night committing the second-fewest turnovers in the league at 14.5 per game, had 12 in the first half. The Clippers converted that into 13 points.

It was 59-49 when Pfund was ejected for the second time as Laker coach, courtesy of two technicals from Ted Bernhardt in rapid-fire succession. The first was for arguing a non-call when Manning blocked Nick Van Exel’s drive, and the second came when Pfund went to midcourt to briefly go face to face with Bernhardt before heading to the locker room.

Laker-Clipper Notes

The Clippers on Friday signed guard Harold Ellis, replacing Henry James, who was waived the day before. Ellis, who watched the game in street clothes from the bench and is expected to be in uniform tonight against the Miami Heat at the Sports Arena, was the Clippers’ final cut of training camp. He then joined the Quad City Thunder of the CBA and averaged 21.4 points and a league-leading 2.9 steals before being brought back.

As it turned out, the Lakers were vindicated in keeping James Edwards as a third-string center while cutting Kurt Rambis and Trevor Wilson, even if it meant ignoring Edwards’ wish to be waived or traded to somewhere he could play. With Sam Bowie sidelined for at least six weeks after arthroscopic surgery, Edwards has become the backup to Vlade Divac. “I don’t look at it at that standpoint,” Laker Coach Randy Pfund said of being vindicated. “But we have talked all along about how you’ve got to be real careful at the center position. There’s not a lot of guys out there with the experience of James Edwards.”

Clipper guard Ron Harper said he hopes to visit his doctor, John Bergfeld, in Cleveland during the upcoming six-game trip to get a second opinion on his sprained left little finger. X-rays have confirmed the sprain, which kept him out of practice Thursday. . . . Clipper Mark Jackson played in his 500th game.