Lakers Nicked, but Not Beaten

Nick Van Exel was in the locker room, having been ejected late in the second quarter Tuesday night, and the Lakers were in trouble, their hot-shooting point guard gone and the lead not far behind. In went Derek Fisher.

“The guy’s a rookie, and he knew he had to somehow reach down and pull us through,” Coach Del Harris said.

He pulled, Shaquille O’Neal and Elden Campbell pushed and Eddie Jones took it from there, making two free throws with 9.1 seconds left to give the Lakers a 92-90 victory over the Sacramento Kings before 17,317 at Arco Arena.

Fisher played 19 of the 24 minutes in the second half, getting four assists against one turnover and three points--minor numbers that don’t tell the story of a major contribution.

“Fisher came in and did a job and delivered the victory,” Harris said after the Lakers also got 27 points and 13 rebounds from O’Neal and 20 points and seven rebounds from Campbell.

Said Fisher, who had contributed before but never for an extended stretch like this: “It felt good. It was the kind of game where adrenaline and everything takes over.”

Van Exel’s ejection came at the hands of official Ronnie Nunn. It angered the Lakers, who thought it was too harsh a penalty for an expletive, and maybe even inspired them.

It was going to be a memorable enough game for Fisher anyway, what with this being the first NBA meeting with close friend Corliss Williamson, Sacramento’s first-round pick of 1995 and now a sometimes starter at small forward. The two, although eventually attending different high schools, were AAU teammates for nine years in Little Rock, Ark., winning state and national titles with others who went on to success in college.

The significance of Tuesday was not lost on either.

“I talked to him a little bit [Monday] night,” Fisher said. “I asked if 10 years ago, when we started playing together, if either of us could have envisioned this. So it is a special moment.”

Emotions aside, the game started according to script. Van Exel, after scoring 17 and 10 points the first quarter of the previous two games, made six of seven shots and had 15 points, making him 15 of 18 from the field in the three opening periods. Campbell continued to cause problems for Sacramento. The Kings hassled the Lakers, as usual here, no matter that the home team came in as losers of four of the previous six while the visitors had won five of six.

By late in the second quarter, though, the Lakers began to pull away, using a 13-0 run for a 54-42 lead with 1:26 left. Campbell, who averaged 17.3 points and 10.8 rebounds in the four meetings last season, accounted for six of the points in the rally.

It was still a 12-point game when Campbell, slicing through the lane, was called for an offensive foul with 50 seconds to play in the half. Even then, the momentum still belonged to the Lakers.

At least it did until Van Exel said something to Nunn and got a technical.

And then immediately said something else to Nunn and got another technical.

Van Exel turned to Nunn, but never got the chance to make a move toward the veteran official. Harris, not needing to be reminded how these things can turn out, grabbed his point guard by the arm. Van Exel then left the court without incident, the third ejection in 3 1/4 seasons but one that will get extra attention since the last, April 9 in Denver, turned into the forearm shove of Ron Garretson and a seven-game suspension.

Afterward, Van Exel politely waved off questions.

Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, shooting the technicals, made both free throws, and the Kings retained possession because of Campbell’s offensive foul. That became two more points on Michael Smith’s tip-in. Suddenly, it was 54-46, before a free throw by O’Neal gave the Lakers their nine-point advantage at intermission.

That made Fisher the point guard the rest of the way in a close game, with relief help from Rumeal Robinson. Because Campbell and Travis Knight had first-half foul trouble, Harris also looked to Sean Rooks for early help, the first meaningful chance for Rooks in weeks.

(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 23 OF 82

* Record 16-7

* Standing 2nd place

Pacific Division

1996-97 LAKERS VS. THE BEST LAKER TEAMS

*--*

Year Gm. 3 Overall 1987-88 3-0 62-20 1986-87 2-1 65-17 1984-85 1-2 62-20 1979-80 2-1 60-22 1971-72 3-0 69-13

*--*

Note: The five teams above all won NBA championships

THE SHAQ SCOREBOARD

Basketball Numbers

Tuesday’s Game:

*--*

Min FG FT Reb Blk Pts 42 10-24 7-13 13 4 27

*--*

1996-97 Season Averages:

*--*

Min FG% FT% Reb Blk Pts 39.0 .577 .480 13.2 2.7 25.0

*--*

1995-96 Season Averages:

*--*

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

*--*

Money Numbers

* Tuesday’s Salary: $130,658.53

* Season Totals: $3,005,146.19

* FACTOID: The Lakers, who led, 82-75, with 10:49 left in game 23 of the 1984-85 season, were outscored, 16-0, over the next six minutes in a 101-98 loss to Washington. “We haven’t held leads all year,” Coach Pat Riley said.