Van Exel Threads Needle : Pro basketball: Laker point guard scores a career-high 40 points as Seattle is beaten, 108-105. Jones’ injury will keep him out at least a month.

Already pushing the limits of their health insurance and their bench, the Lakers learned Monday they have to dig deeper into both when tests revealed that Eddie Jones will be out four to six weeks because of a sprained right shoulder.

In medical terms, it is a moderate sprain and will not require surgery. In basketball terms, it’s serious.

Already without Cedric Ceballos since he suffered a hand ligament injury Feb. 3, the Lakers now figure to be minus two starters for at least the next month. Not only that, it’s their No. 1 and 4 scorers, about 36 points and 13 rebounds in all, and leaves them exposed at small forward and maybe shooting guard, as well.

“Somebody just doesn’t want us to win,” Nick Van Exel lamented later Monday, just before defying the odds and the Seattle SuperSonics to score a career-high 40 points and lead the Lakers to a shocking 108-105 victory at the Tacoma Dome and a 4-0 record in the season series.

Added Vlade Divac, who had 19 points and eight assists: “Bad luck. What are you going to say? The first half (of the season), we were lucky staying away from injury. Now, almost every game somebody is out.

“It’s tough, but it’s a challenge for us. We have to stay together and guys like Anthony Peeler and Sedale (Threatt) have to step up.”

Jones had done just that to help compensate for the loss of Ceballos, averaging 22.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.8 steals while shooting 51.9% in the five games heading into Sunday’s meeting with Portland, often while moving from his regular shooting guard to small forward. Then, with 1:40 remaining in the first quarter against the Trail Blazers, Jones charged down the right side, took a pass from Van Exel and threw down a ferocious slam dunk.

There was no indication at the time anything was wrong. But about a minute later, Jones appeared to be in some pain and was rubbing the shoulder. He came out with 59 seconds left and then, as the final seconds of the period ticked off, walked to the locker room.

By the end of the night, Jones had the right arm in a sling and was saying he felt a pop in the joint, normally a sign of trouble. On Monday, he saw team physician Steve Lombardo and had an MRI exam, and the sprain was diagnosed.

“I think this is a very rare injury in the sense of his mechanism--no one was around the guy and he just switched direction in the air,” trainer Gary Vitti said.

“I watched the film of the game four or five times (Sunday) night. He sort of changed directions in mid-air to avoid the defender. . . . When he adjusted himself, he got into an abnormal range of motion.”

Now, it’s the Lakers who need to adjust. The loss of Ceballos, the starting small forward, and Jones, the pseudo-starting small forward, puts the job into George Lynch’s hands. But what of depth, there and, in turn, at shooting guard?

The Lakers can go with a big lineup and use Kurt Rambis, perhaps about to be signed for the rest of the season, or Antonio Harvey out of position. Or they can go small with Tony Smith--sidelined again Monday with a strained calf muscle--or Peeler in what would be an extended use of the three-guard alignment that has often worked well.

Either way, the Lakers could be in for a series of severe matchup problems, like Sunday, when they elected to go for speed and quickness over size and used the 6-foot-4 Peeler on 6-9 Harvey Grant and 6-7 Jerome Kersey.

“We’re just going to have to manage,” Van Exel said in what is fast becoming the Laker slogan.

Monday, Peeler got Detlef Schrempf, merely a 6-11 All-Star, down the stretch of a close game. Schrempf finished with 26 points, but Peeler played him even in the fourth quarter and the Lakers escaped by making a 106-103 lead with 1:13 remaining stand up, avoiding overtime and getting the victory when Nate McMillan’s 25-footer at the buzzer missed.

In doing so, the Lakers won for the sixth time in the last seven games to improve to 32-17, including a startling 8-1 in two stretches without Ceballos.

“We have an awfully big heart on this team,” Laker Coach Del Harris said.

None bigger than Van Exel, who bettered his previous career best of 35 points and also made seven of nine three-pointers to break his own team single-season record. He began the night needing only one to set the mark of 124, got that on the opening possession and never slowed, pushing the new standard to 130, with 33 games still left.