Lakers Finally Get One for Road

Laker problems were mounting. The losses. The nagging injuries. The disintegrating confidence.

The coach running for the thesaurus.

“Your coach runs out of ways to euphemize about how good these things are for you in the long run,” Del Harris said before the 106-100 victory over the Sacramento Kings. “It was important to break the schneid. And to win here.”

To win anywhere away from the Forum these days. Tuesday night, faced with the possibility of tying the 38-year-old franchise record of 10 consecutive regular-season road losses dating back to last season, the Lakers broke that streak, getting 31 points from Cedric Ceballos, 23 points and 12 rebounds from Elden Campbell, 19 points from Vlade Divac and their first victory at Arco Arena since Feb. 24, 1993.

With the Kings playing with only eight players, the league minimum, as four others served suspensions from a bench-clearing brawl, the Lakers finally broke through in the final minute. The key was a five-point possession with 34 seconds left--Sedale Threatt’s runner, foul and subsequent free throw, along with two ill-advised technicals from Sacramento’s Mitch Richmond, who had scored 28 points.

When Threatt made his foul shot and Ceballos converted both his free throws from the technicals, the Lakers were up, 106-99. More than out of bodies, the Kings were out of time.

“It was a good effort,” Ceballos said. “I think it’s real important to start establishing a good road record. We had some bumps and some scratches, but we held together.”

The Kings had already played one game with eight players, a two-point loss Saturday at New Jersey, though it was more like seven players because Lionel Simmons got only nine minutes. Tuesday, in the second installment of penalties, they were without starting center Olden Polynice, key reserves Michael Smith and Sarunas Marciulionis, and Simmons.

“I’ve said this various ways before, but I think a wounded dog is the toughest in a fight,” Harris said. “We proved that numerous times last year. You really can get run down in their position over a long haul, but short term, you could get energized performances from those who are left.”

Not to mention the more obvious.

“I wish we were in a position where we could take anything for granted,” Harris said.

The Lakers, of course, were not.

What the Kings lacked in bodies they made up for in momentum, having just finished a 3-1 trip that included the fight-marred victory at Indiana and boosted them to the best start in franchise history. Then, with Duane Causwell taking Polynice’s place in the opening lineup, they trailed the Lakers by only a point after the first quarter despite shooting 26.3%.

Twenty-six seconds into the second quarter, Sacramento’s Byron Houston got his third foul--and stayed in.

At 6 feet 5, he was the closest thing to a big man in reserve, joined only by Tyus Edney and Tyrone Corbin on the bench at tip-off.

Even as the Kings brought more adversity upon themselves--15 turnovers and nine assists the first half--they stayed close until midway through the second quarter. From there, they prospered, finishing with 18-9 run the final 5:10 to take a 51-44 lead into intermission, capped by Edney’s 55-foot bank at the buzzer.

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Laker Notes

Sacramento Coach Garry St. Jean said he never had to play with only eight players at his disposal, at least not since working youth-league games in his native Massachusetts. Laker Coach Del Harris, on the other hand, once played only six players in an NBA game, on the second day of a home back-to-back in the Finals no less. His Houston Rockets, facing elimination in Game 4 of the 1981 championship series, defeated the Boston Celtics at the Summit with a starting lineup that included Mike Dunleavy and only one reserve, Bill Willoughby. The Celtics won the title in six games. . . . St. Jean was ejected after rapid-fire technicals from official John Heatly with 4:16 left in the third quarter. The crowd responded by chanting “We want the refs!” Meanwhile, both teams were clearly frustrated all game by the substitute officials working in place of locked-out referees. . . . Tyus Edney, the Kings’ rookie point guard from UCLA, had 12 points and nine assists but made only four of 13 shots.