There’s Very Little Magic as Lakers Ice Playoff Spot

There was no champagne, no celebration, not even any congratulatory hugs. Heck, there wasn’t even a real understanding among some players of what had happened.

Not that it wasn’t a big deal to the Lakers, but well, it wasn’t that big of a deal. They are humming along so well as winners of seven of their last eight games that they didn’t even slow down to realize that Sunday night’s 119-112 victory over the Orlando Magic before 17,505 at the Forum had assured them of a berth in the NBA playoffs.

“Did we?” Vlade Divac asked. “Today? Really?”

Really.

The Lakers did so behind 33 points and eight rebounds by Cedric Ceballos; 19 points, six rebounds and six assists off the bench by Sedale Threatt, and 16 points, nine assists and seven rebounds by Nick Van Exel. They also committed only eight turnovers, tying a season low, and withstood 27 points, 12 rebounds and six assists by Shaquille O’Neal, who scored 46 points when the teams met on March 6 in Orlando.

Maybe it’s that this moment had been a foregone conclusion, as the only real business to be determined is whether they finish fifth or sixth in the Western Conference and who their opponent will be. Or maybe it’s that the Lakers, even after being on the outside looking in last season for the first time since 1976, have long had their sights set on bigger things. That means going far in the playoffs, not just getting in.

Either way, it took someone else to remind the Lakers of their accomplishment.

“That’s what they told me,” Threatt said.

Van Exel added: “Somebody mentioned it to me after the game. It’s a good feeling. . . . I’m glad to finally get it over with. Now we’ve got to keep on rolling and keep some momentum for the playoffs.”

This was a good way to do it. Orlando was without its top two point guards, Anfernee Hardaway and Brian Shaw, but came in having won five of six, most recently in Utah, and with the best record in the Eastern Conference all but wrapped up. If the Magic needed another boost, Brooks Thompson, the rookie from Oklahoma State, provided it by contributing 20 points.

In fact, it was Thompson’s straight-away three-point shot that cut a Laker lead to 101-100 with 5:27 remaining. At about the same time, Hardaway was leaving a hospital, where he had been since the morning for treatment of dehydration, and the Magic was anticipating its first season sweep against L.A.

Suddenly, the Lakers started to look replenished. Van Exel made two free throws, then a three-point shot, punctuated by shadow-boxing as he ran downcourt. He missed another three-point attempt on the next possession, allowing the visitors to close within 106-104 with 3:06 left, but that’s when the Magic stopped.

Six Laker possessions resulted in six scores, the final on free throws as Orlando fouled to stop the clock. Threatt had seven of the 13 points, Ceballos the other six, sometimes while playing power forward as Coach Del Harris went to a small lineup.

Laker Notes

Orlando’s Brian Shaw missed the game because of a strained groin. . . . Anfernee Hardaway, who had lost 10 pounds the last two weeks because a muscle spasm in his throat made it difficult to eat, was taken to a hospital during the morning shoot-around. But he rejoined the Magic later Sunday night at its hotel and is scheduled to be on the charter back to Florida today.

Vlade Divac scored two points in 24 minutes, his smallest offensive output since December 1993. . . . Eddie Jones is shooting 37.7% (23 for 61) in the five games since returning, but he has compensated for those struggles by making 16 steals. The rookie shooting guard, who has also played small forward, was averaging two steals overall coming in, which would have been tied for No. 5 in the league heading into Sunday’s games, except that he is unable to meet the minimum qualifying standards after missing five weeks because of a sprained shoulder