Laker Loss Not One for Books

That was a close one.

Not the game. Definitely not the game.

The near miss was the Lakers’ collision course with history Wednesday night, the kind they don’t put on the wall of the Forum, the kind that can come out of nowhere, even emerging from the pride of a great victory.

The Lakers celebrated Tuesday at the Forum after beating Seattle, then were left reeling after a 101-75 loss to the Utah Jazz on Wednesday in the Delta Center.

It was the 12th victory in a row for the Jazz.

And it could have been even worse for the Lakers.

The worst showing in team history--since the move to Los Angeles--was 74 points, first done Dec. 19, 1990, against Cleveland and then again Feb. 3, 1995, against Denver.

Today’s Lakers, averaging 97.2 points the first 19 games, were at 49 heading into the fourth quarter before an outburst of 26 points saved them. Or at least before garbage time saved them.

Ultimately, Corie Blount’s dunk with 16.6 seconds to play provided the 75. Of course, on this night, when they were shooting a season-low 34.1%, it had to come on a third-shot opportunity.

“I don’t think we were tired,” Shaquille O’Neal said after early foul trouble and the eventual blowout limited him to 33 minutes, 21 points and eight rebounds. “We just didn’t hit the shots.”

Added Coach Del Harris: “In an 82-game schedule, there’s usually going to be four or five games you’d like to delete, and this was obviously one of them. It was a game where we never really got anything going.”

So maybe this was a tough town to try to improve on a three-game winning streak?

“Well,” Harris said, “apparently.”

It wasn’t as though the Lakers didn’t know they were being sized up. The Jazz had played four games the previous eight days, three of which were at home, compared to five games in four cities for the Lakers. The last time this happened--Nov. 20 at the Forum--Utah came in on three days’ rest, the Lakers were also on the second night of a back-to-back, and the Jazz won by 16.

“We’re sitting here waiting for them,” Utah Coach Jerry Sloan, downplaying the significance of the easy victory.

There were other similarities. Karl Malone, for example. The first meeting, the Lakers outscored him by one point in the third quarter. This time, he beat them by four.

Two-game totals for just after halftime: Malone 37, Lakers 34.

It came most recently, however, at the expense of an ever-changing cast, one that made a second switch to the starting lineup in four games. Rumeal Robinson out, Jerome Kersey in, Eddie Jones back to shooting guard.

Robinson’s stint lasted three games, or as he might prefer to look at in making a case that he never got a real chance, 32 minutes and seven shots. The reason for the demotion was ostensibly the same one that got him the job in the first place, a desire by Harris to have Kersey play immediately after warming up in hopes it will be better for a nagging Achilles’ injury, which then meant Jones was returning to his old gig.

But the Lakers were clearly looking for a spark. In fact, Harris had hoped to keep Kersey in his reserve role to provide a spark off the bench, but made the move. This being the Harris rotation that at various times frustrates, exasperates or confounds players, Robinson promptly went from No. 1 at the position to No. 3 against the Jazz, also behind Byron Scott, who had an impressive showing against Seattle.

Jones said the change doesn’t make a difference to him, but he had his own problems to worry about, anyway. A strained right groin, suffered against the SuperSonics, caused pain and stiffness, even if that wasn’t to blame for the one-for-10 shooting.

“I never use injuries for an excuse,” he said. “I had a lot of good looks. I just didn’t make them.”

Anyway, Harris now has a starting five he would like to stick with for the next month or so, until Cedric Ceballos is ready to take Kersey’s job back.

“This is nice,” Harris said. “This fits. This plays well.”

Most of the time, anyway.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

A Season of Expectations

The Lakers acquired nine new players this season, including Shaquille O’Neal and his $120-million contract. In turn, with big acquisitions come big expectations. Throughout the season, The Times will monitor O’Neal’s numbers along with how the team compares to some of the best Laker teams in history.

GAME 20 OF 82

* Record 13-7

* Standing 2nd place

Pacific Division

1996-97 LAKERS VS. THE BEST LAKER TEAMS

*--*

Year Gm. 20 Overall 1987-88 14-6 62-20 1986-87 16-4 65-17 1984-85 13-7 62-20 1979-80 14-6 60-22 1971-72 17-3 69-13

*--*

Note: The five teams above all won NBA championships

THE SHAQ SCOREBOARD

Basketball Numbers

* Wednesday’s Game:

*--*

Min FG FT Reb Blk Pts 33 8-18 5-9 8 3 21

*--*

* 1996-97 Season Averages:

*--*

Min FG% FT% Reb Blk Pts 39.0 .587 .463 13.1 2.6 25.1

*--*

* 1995-96 Season Averages:

*--*

Min FG% FT% Reb Blk Pts 36.0 .573 .487 11.0 2.1 26.6

*--*

Money Numbers

* Wednesday’s Salary: $130,658.53

* Season Totals: $2,613,170.60

* FACTOID: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored 32 points in Game 20 of the 1984-85 season as the Lakers narrowly beat the 2-16 Cleveland Cavaliers, 116-112. The good showing against the Lakers saved then-rookie Coach George Karl’s job. After the game, Karl said, “At this point, I’ll take anything.”

Up and Down

For the fifth week in a row, the Lakers won Tuesday and lost Wednesday.

Tuesday, Nov. 5 at New York

* Lakers 98, Knicks 92

Wednesday, Nov. 6 at Charlotte

* Hornets 88, Lakers 78

Tuesday, Nov. 12 at Houston

* Lakers 126, Rockets 115 (2 OT)

Wednesday, Nov. 13 at San Antonio

* Spurs 95, Lakers 83

Tuesday, Nov. 19 at San Jose

* Lakers 112, Warriors 109

Wednesday, Nov. 20 at Forum

* Jazz 113, Lakers 97

Tuesday, Nov. 26 at Philadelphia

* Lakers 100, 76ers 88

Wednesday, Nov. 27 at Boston

* Celtics 110, Lakers 94

Tuesday, Dec. 3 at Forum

* Lakers 110, SuperSonics 106

Wednesday, Nov. 4 at Salt Lake City

* Jazz 101, Lakers 75

Lakers’ average score on Tuesday: 109.2

Lakers’ average score on Wednesday: 85.4

Next Tuesday: at Sacramento

Next Wednesday: vs. Indiana