It’s All OK Now as Lakers Rebound

Tuesday became Wednesday and the defeat at Chicago--”our debacle”--became part of the Laker past, recent or otherwise but behind them nonetheless.

A 111-105 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks before 16,829 at the Bradley Center on the day after took care of that, a cleansing of the Lakers’ soul that doubled as a gut check. As if getting a team that barely showed any press, let alone lethal full-court traps, and offered almost entirely single coverage on Shaquille O’Neal wasn’t enough cause for celebration.

“We approached this game as a battle against human nature, basically,” Coach Del Harris said. “The biggest enemy being ourselves. We knew each guy would have to dig down and find extra effort.

“Everyone was so upbeat and positive that we were going to do what it takes and come back and win tonight. The response to our debacle was the best you can get. So that at least, I think, speaks well for our future.

“I must admit that after last night’s game what could have happened. What could have happened was our guys could have gone into the tank, like a lot of teams have done in the past after losing a tough game. It could have really hurt a young team’s psyche.

“This was a big win. In some ways, as big a win as we’ve had all season, given the context.”

The context was what had occurred about 24 hours earlier. A 19-point lead with 10:34 left in the fourth quarter at the United Center that became a six-point overtime loss. The Lakers having been pressed into submission. O’Neal scoring for the last time with 6:52 to go . . . in the third quarter. The quiet bus ride north that seemed a lot longer than 90 minutes.

The context of what could have been in the aftermath.

“It was big,” Nick Van Exel said of the victory, of which his part included 18 points and 11 assists in his annual visit to his home state. “We can forget about [Tuesday] now and move on. It shows a lot about our team and our confidence and how we have been playing.”

Added Eddie Jones: “In my book, I put it as a big win only because we lost last night.”

Otherwise, of course, it would have been just another victory, the Lakers’ seventh in a row if they had finished the job against the Bulls. But that’s what made this special, not only the season-high 41 points from O’Neal that was accompanied by 13 rebounds and three blocks.

Increasing the significance was that they had to hold together to get it, testing the new foundation. After all, the Bucks, having come in four games above .500 for the first time in four years, had a 98-98 tie with 3:26 remaining when Glenn Robinson, playing the role of Toni Kukoc, made a jumper for the last of his 42 points.

That’s when the Lakers took control. Elden Campbell broke down the lane for a layup, part of his 19 points and nine rebounds. O’Neal made a nice pass from the post that Jones turned into an even nicer basket, a reverse layup as he also scored 19 points. O’Neal connected on a hook from the lane, making it 104-98 with 1:50 left.

The O’Neal score came against single coverage, again. He remembers always getting such a look from Chris Ford, who spent previous years with the Boston Celtics before coming to the Bucks. That last basket was against Armon Gilliam, but Andrew Lang, Vin Baker and Joe Wolf also took turns with similar outcomes, though at least Wolf added a degree of originality to drawing the short straw by getting five fouls in six minutes.

O’Neal said Ford always does that with him. Maybe, but Harris called it the most one-on-one coverage his center has gotten this season.

The Bulls had success against O’Neal by double-teaming, but more than that by using a series of full-court presses to force turnovers or simply take the Lakers out of their offense long before he could get involved. The Bucks scouted the game, with former pro Tony Brown, but didn’t follow Chicago’s lead, instead allowing Laker guards to bring the ball up without more than mild hassles.

“I was surprised,” Van Exel said. “But every team doesn’t have the Jordans and the Pippens and the Randy Browns.”

A fact for which the Lakers, on their feet again, can be forever grateful.

* BOFFO: TV ratings reached new heights for Laker-Bull game, with about 2.2 million fans viewing from Chicago. C5

(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 27 OF 82

* Record 19-8

* Standing 1st place

Pacific Division

1996-97 LAKERS VS. THE BEST LAKER TEAMS

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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

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Note: The five teams above all won NBA championships

THE SHAQ SCOREBOARD

Basketball Numbers

Wednesday’s Game:

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Min FG FT Reb Blk Pts 43 15-25 11-16 13 3 41

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1996-97 Season Averages:

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Min FG% FT% Reb Blk Pts 39.7 .574 .504 12.9 2.9 26.2

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1995-96 Season Averages:

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

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Money Numbers

* Wednesday’s Salary: $130,658.53

* Season Totals: $3,527,780.31

* FACTOID: In game 27 of the 1971-72 season, Gail Goodrich scored 42 points and Jerry West 33 as the Lakers defeated Houston, 125-120, in a game Coach Bill Sharman called “the toughest so far of our [18-game] winning streak.” Stu Lantz scored nine points for Houston.