It’s Ugly, but Lakers Won’t Throw It Back

The Lakers of the 1990s dressed like the Lakers of the 1960s on Friday night for the latest chapter of a rivalry for the ages.

They were concerned with the past all right, only not quite the past that they were advertising.

The uniforms they wore were replicas of the first six seasons in Los Angeles as part of the NBA’s 50th-anniversary celebration, but the motivation was a month old. That was when the Lakers lost to the lowly Celtics at the FleetCenter, a memory that they say played a role in the 109-102 victory over Boston before 17,505 at the Forum.

“A great deal,” said Derek Fisher, who had 13 points off the bench and was going so well that he played the first 8:05 of the fourth quarter. “We owed them.”

Added Jerome Kersey, who had 13 points, 10 rebounds and five steals: “To lose to that team, I’m not saying they’re a bad team or anything, but we shouldn’t lose to them. We wanted to pay them back.”

The Celtics brought in a porous defense, the worst record in the league, a five-game losing streak and an 0-10 road mark, but they chased the Lakers to the end, down only 100-96 with 2:41 left. But that also became the time of their last meaningful points, dragging the problems out for another night.

So there wasn’t much historical about it after all, no matter the wardrobes. The Lakers continued to roll despite not having found a real groove yet, winning for the eighth time in 10 games as Shaquille O’Neal had 25 points and 11 rebounds, and Boston continued to search for its future and its past.

OK, so it wasn’t a complete throwback uniform.

“No hot pants,” Celtic Coach M.L. Carr said, noting the change through the years in the length of the basketball shorts. “That’s not retro.”

“Back then,” Del Harris of the Lakers added, “those things were like bikinis.”

The concession wasn’t to the new-style baggy trunks and the fabrics of the ‘90s alone. There were the Lakers going with road uniforms--royal blue with white trim, numbers and letters--but nonetheless the colors of their forefathers instead of the current purple and gold, and with “Los Angeles” across the chest in cursive instead of “LAKERS” in block. That made the Celtics, with white and green accents, the home team in appearance, although they actually went with a compilation look rather than picking any one era since they’ve made only the slightest modifications through the years.

Two other problems:

“I hate the color blue,” O’Neal said. “Get it?”

Got it. The Orlando Magic wear blue.

And, about that new Laker, the one who looks familiar, has the familiar uniform No. 43, but has BLOUT on the back of the throwback jersey.

“Always the butt of jokes,” Corie Blount said.

The seamstress has one more chance to get it right: The Lakers will also wear their ancestors’ threads--used for the first six seasons after the move from Minneapolis in 1960--on Jan. 29 at San Antonio.

This was, however, the Lakers’ only chance to correct their mistake from Nov. 27, the 16-point loss at Boston that prompted a players-only meeting the next day. Exactly a month later, L.A. had a revenge factor for motivation.

“Good,” Carr said. “They should. They should use it as inspiration. . . . That’s what teams should do. You like to hear that.”

He liked what came next even better: the Celtics making 13 of their first 18 shots and jumping to a nine-point lead in the first quarter, then pushing the advantage to 10 early in the second quarter. Even when the Lakers responded by taking the lead within minutes, and then holding a 60-56 edge at halftime, Boston was still at 57.5%.

It was tight throughout the third period, at 77-77 until the final seconds. Until the final 2.6 seconds actually, when Fisher made a three-pointer while being fouled by David Wesley and then made the free throw. That gave the Lakers an 82-77 advantage heading into the final quarter.

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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 30 OF 82

* Record 21-9

* Standing Tied for 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

Friday’s Game:

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Min FG FT Reb Blk Pts 39 10-19 5-13 11 2 25

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1996-97 Season Averages:

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Min FG% FT% Reb Blk Pts 39.8 .562 .493 13.1 2.9 26.1

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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

* Friday’s Salary: $130,658.53

* Season Totals: $3,919,755.90

* FACTOID: In Game 30 of the 1986-87 season, the Lakers tied an NBA record by scoring 89 points in the first half of a 155-118 victory over Phoenix. The team shot 65.6% for the game and eight Lakers scored in double figures.