Lakers’ Love-Fest Knows No Borders

The Lakers came to Canada but remained in a united state.

Sunday afternoon before 36,046 at the SkyDome, not to mention those who watched from hotel windows overlooking the court, it appeared in the form of a 111-106 victory over the Toronto Raptors, the closest finish in what was supposed to be the easiest game on the trip that has started 4-0. Group hug.

Cedric Ceballos has made some contributions to the cause, chipping in 16 points off the bench this time, but none that compare to walking out on his teammates. It angered the Lakers, then created a bond.

“We’ve become so much closer,” Vlade Divac said after getting 20 points and a season-high 19 rebounds, just missing his fourth career 20-20. “It’s really a joy to be in the locker room with the guys. It pulled us together.”

And not only in their contempt for Ceballos. All outward signs of that have disappeared, but the winning that has come since his return continues, on the road at that.

Tuesday brought a 22-point victory over Orlando, which hadn’t lost at home all season.

Wednesday, an 11-pointer at Miami in the Magic Johnson-Pat Riley reunion.

Friday, they turned a close game in the fourth quarter against the Atlanta Hawks into a 13-point victory.

Sunday, a week after Ceballos surfaced from his four-day disappearance, they were still, for lack of a better term, crediting his actions for their emergence from the same distraction he had caused. They had him to blame and to thank.

“Absolutely,” Coach Del Harris said, agreeing with the theory held by many of his players. “And I can’t explain it, but so often in life it takes some sort of problem or crisis or blowup to re-commit people, to see what’s important.

“All of the sudden, we’re back in focus. It was like, ‘Hey, what is important and what do we want to do?’ ”

They chose to play on, something that was evident from the first stop.

“I just sensed it in Orlando,” Harris said. “You could kind of feel it. Maybe we had to win that game for it to jell, for it to become real. But once we won, that foggy vision, if that’s what you want to call it, became real.”

Then they had that to rely on in the fourth quarter Sunday, because the Raptors weren’t going away on their own. The Laker lead was only 105-101 with 1:20 remaining, but Sedale Threatt, playing the entire final quarter at point guard after Nick Van Exel went out because of a strained groin, made a jumper with a second left on the shot clock, then hauled in a long defensive rebound at the other end.

Johnson made two free throws with 45 seconds to go, but Tracy Murray countered with a three-point basket for Toronto with 38 seconds left. The cushion was five and the Raptors were about to regain possession after Anthony Peeler missed, but Threatt got an offensive rebound, kicking the ball back out to Peeler on the perimeter. He connected this time, icing the game.

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Laker Notes

Nick Van Exel said his injury did not seem too serious. The Lakers are listing him as day-to-day and get a break in that Van Exel has more than 48 hours--from the end of the Sunday matinee to tipoff Tuesday night in Charlotte--to recover. . . . Magic Johnson, having significantly increased his stamina and lost about 10 pounds to get somewhere around the low 240s, said he has finally reached NBA shape. Good thing, because he had played 42, 39, 36, 39 and 39 minutes in the five games before Sunday, when he played 34. That’s an average of 38.2 in six games as a starter. “And I don’t hurt afterward now,” Johnson said. “That’s the key. Before, I was hurting.”

Raptor executives seriously considered firing Coach Brendan Malone last week, then held off. More likely, a change will probably come in the summer. The 18-53 record isn’t the problem nearly as much as the conflict between Malone trying to win every game, even if it means giving big minutes to veterans such as Alvin Robertson and Oliver Miller, and the wishes of Executive Vice President Isiah Thomas to spend more of the time toward developing and evaluating young players. The Raptors used only six players Sunday, including Tracy Murray, who made 13 of 16 shots and scored 32 points. . . . The largest crowd to watch the Lakers was 43,606, on March 17, 1990, at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, the one season the Timberwolves played there.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Magic Marker / Tracking Magic Johnson’s comeback

SUNDAY’S GAME

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Min. FG FT Pts. Reb. Ast. 34 5-12 (.417) 9-10 (.900) 19 4 6 SEASON AVERAGES Min. FG% FT% Pts. Reb. Ast. 30.0 .487 .854 15.5 5.7 6.9 CAREER AVERAGES 36.9 .521 .848 19.7 7.3 11.4

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Career averages before comeback

RECORD

LAKERS BEFORE MAGIC 24-18 (.571)

LAKERS WITH MAGIC 21-7 (.750)