Jones Gets the Point, Lakers Get the Victory

So there were the Lakers heading into GM Place minus the injured Nick Van Exel and Magic Johnson and suddenly down to one point guard, Sedale Threatt.

Eddie Jones would play that position for the first time in his 1 1/2 seasons as a pro. They could have been in a bind.

“You turn to your next guy, right?” Coach Del Harris said after the Lakers beat the Vancouver Grizzlies, 99-80, before 19,193. “Our secret weapon in the ball-handling department.”

That would be Elden Campbell.

The power forward tied his career high with eight assists Wednesday and also had 12 points and 10 rebounds to make a run at a triple-double.

Their 18th victory in the last 21 games came with 10 players at Harris’ disposal. With Cedric Ceballos scoring a game-high 23 points, Vlade Divac getting 17 rebounds and Jones 18 points, that proved more than enough.

Starting for the first time this season, and only the third time in the last 137 regular-season games, Threatt played a season-high 37 minutes after averaging only 13.5 minutes the previous 11. He was only two of seven from the field, but had six assists and, with the Grizzlies trailing by eight points heading into the fourth quarter, ran the offense for all but the final 1:17.

Jones, meanwhile, got 11 of his 39 minutes at point guard, made four three-point shots in eight tries and had four assists without a turnover.

“I hope Nick’s back now,” he said. “That’s all I’ve got to say. It’s tough [there]. I liked it, but it’s tiresome.”

Said Harris: “I thought he did a very nice job. He is a good ballplayer, after all.”

Van Exel (hip pointer) and Johnson (strained and tight calf muscle) remain day-to-day, so their availability for Friday’s game against Washington at the Forum may not be known until shortly before tip-off. That means Threatt and Jones could have the keys to the car again.

Or Campbell, now that his assist average has climbed to two a game.

“It’s not unusual,” he said of his output, even though it is. “I’m getting double-teamed and passing out. If they hit them, I get an assist. If not, I don’t. Same thing every game.”

Except this time the Lakers really needed the contribution in that area.

It helped them build a 13-point lead at halftime, despite Vancouver’s Bryant Reeves getting 20 of his 22 points by the break, and then, after the Grizzlies managed to make it interesting, pull away for good early in the fourth.

“They handled us pretty well,” the Grizzlies’ Byron Scott said. “That’s a good team over there. They have some confidence now and they’re playing better than they have in recent months. That’s a tribute to Earvin.”

Absent or not.

Laker Notes

The 17 rebounds for Vlade Divac was one shy of his season high. . . . Elden Campbell also had four blocked shots. . . . Byron Scott, continuing his hot shooting streak, made four of seven attempts in 24 minutes off the bench for the Grizzlies. But he missed the chance to play against former Showtime running mate Magic Johnson. “We have them one more time in L.A., so hopefully I’ll get to play against him then,” Scott said. “Hopefully, I’ll hit him with a couple of elbows and knock a couple of jumpers down.”