Lakers Hit by Glancing Blow From Miller : Pro basketball: Trip ends with 109-98 loss. Pacer star has last word.

Look which Reggie Miller the Lakers got the second time around: the stare master, the glaring young man on the flying trapeze.

He was motivated. He was efficient with his 10 shots, only two more than when he was shut down in the first meeting 2 1/2 weeks ago at the Forum. More than anything, he was again Miller-like against his hometown team, scoring 21 points to join Derrick McKey and Rik Smits in leading the Indiana Pacers to a 109-98 victory Wednesday night before 15,870 at Market Square Arena.

Maybe it had something to do with that new Laker assistant coach, Spike Lee. He was the one answering to the name Michael Cooper.

“Did it look like that?” Cooper said, grinning.

Well, yes. Miller remembered Cooper riding him most of that Dec. 3 game in Los Angeles, an eight-shot, eight-point effort by one of the game’s most dangerous offensive weapons. So this time, Miller made sure his new foil, if only an interim, got it back in triplicate.

Miller shot a glance at Cooper on the bench, even if from the other end, after making most of his six baskets, two of which were three-pointers.

He glared after making free throws.

He made comments about someone needing a muzzle and an off-hand comment about defenders who wore knee-high socks when they played.

He had the ball as the Pacers ran out the final moments of the victory, holding it at halfcourt and staring the other way directly at Cooper for the final seven seconds, and then some more as the Lakers headed to their locker room.

“They were doing a lot of talking in L.A.,” he said later. “So I’ve got to return the favor.”

As Cooper pointed out, Miller did not win the game for the Pacers, not when Smits had a game-high 27 points and McKey recorded his first triple-double in eight-plus seasons as a pro with 17 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists. At the same time, there is no denying his significant impact, especially with 12 points in the first quarter as Indiana quickly built a double-digit cushion.

By intermission, Miller had 15 points and he had made all four shots, and both three-pointers, and five of the six free throws. His offensive contributions tailed off in the second half, but the point had already been made. So he actually had 22 for the night.

“Maybe he said I spoke a little bit too much,” Cooper said of apparently having lighted the fuse. “I was just saying things to motivate my players. It was nothing personal with him.”

To Miller, it was.

The loss, despite a season-low eight turnovers and a rare sign of life from Vlade Divac, dropped the Lakers to 2-4 on their longest trip in two years and 4-11 on the road. They also go back home at .500 overall (13-13) just in time to have one day off before heading into another back-to-back, this time with hot Sacramento followed by a Saturday visit to Portland.

Figure they won’t be sending a Christmas gift to the league’s schedule maker. Wednesday marked the third back-to-back of the Eastern swing, and they had to go without Eddie Jones and Corie Blount in this one.

In their place came encouraging efforts. Nick Van Exel, who began the trip struggling to find his shot, had 20 points and seven assists, breaking the 20-point barrier for the fourth time in five games. Divac, meanwhile, came in averaging only 7.8 points and 5.2 rebounds the previous five outings while battling a sore knee and flu, then finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds against the Pacers.

Laker Notes

Eddie Jones has been cleared to play Friday against Sacramento at the Forum, after being fitted by a mask to protect his broken nose. The second-year guard, 14 games into his return after 6 1/2 weeks out because of a torn thumb ligament, suffered the injury Tuesday at Milwaukee, when he was hit by an inadvertent elbow from the Bucks’ Vin Baker. While the Lakers came to Indianapolis for the final leg of the trip, Jones had the nose reset in the morning and then flew home to Los Angeles for another examination with Dr. Abraham Tzadik, an ear, nose and throat specialist in Marina del Rey. Tzadik said Jones will be able to play against the Kings with a mask, thus sitting out only one full game. . . . The eight turnovers was the fewest for the Lakers since they had a club-record six on Feb. 25, 1994.