More Pain, but No Gain for Lakers

Shaquille O’Neal had run out of knees to hurt, so fate was forced to pick on a new Laker Sunday afternoon, turning on Robert Horry similarly, as if misery needed company in this locker room.

Their third knee injury of concern in the last six games came in the fourth quarter of a 102-91 matinee loss to the Seattle SuperSonics at the Forum, a defeat that would have been much tougher to take had there not been a greater urgency. Horry on the floor, the Lakers knowing all too well why it looked so familiar.

“I was like, ‘Oh, no. Not again,’ ” Eddie Jones said.

The preliminary diagnosis on Horry was a sprained left knee, only 12 games into a Los Angeles career that had already included a sprained ankle against the same SuperSonics, an injury that cost him two games. The Lakers would be thrilled to get off that easily this time.

A more precise evaluation will be known today, after the night to allow for the swelling to go down and after Horry is examined by team physician Steve Lombardo. With O’Neal already expected to be sidelined eight to 10 weeks, even if he said his goal is to make it back in six, this could be another serious blow to a frontcourt already being taxed.

This much was certain Sunday: the Horry injury looked far more ominous in that he needed help getting off the court and then used crutches for the locker room journey from the shower to his locker. O’Neal not only walked to the bench on his own last Wednesday in Minneapolis, but went back into the game.

“I was in a lot of pain,” Horry said. “But it’s like when you get hit in the funny bone. I hope it’s like that. Initial pain.”

But still painful enough--he made the comments after easing into the fold-up chair in front of his locker with an obvious measure of dexterity. On the other hand, the joint wasn’t hurting anything like it was during the 30 minutes or so it was getting iced down.

The injury came in a game when the Lakers again appeared to be overcoming the loss of O’Neal, although it certainly helped their cause that the SuperSonics were without all-star Shawn Kemp, serving a one-game suspension for throwing a punch Friday against Houston. Neither team had managed more than a seven-point lead through the first three quarters.

Then came the fourth. Capping a 22-9 run when Jones drove the baseline for a slam dunk, part of his team-high 26 points, the Lakers took a 77-71 lead with 11:08 remaining. The crowd, a sellout of 17,505 but often not at the playoff pitch it had offered for the visit by the Bulls in the previous home game, got involved.

The Lakers felt they had the momentum, even after Seattle scored on its next two possessions to make it 77-75. The SuperSonics went for the tie when Terry Cummings, starting from the right post, drove into the lane, but knocked over Jerome Kersey for a charging call. The fans erupted again.

But when they saw Kersey fall backward and into Horry’s left leg, and when Horry dropped to the ground and clutched the knee, and when Kersey fell to his teammates’ side and quickly motioned for trainer Gary Vitti, the crowd became silent.

“Gary asked if it was his shin or his knee,” Kersey said. “He said, ‘Both.’ ”

Horry remained extended on the floor, not far from the Laker bench, for about a minute, until he sat up. A minute or so after that, he was helped to his feet and went straight to the locker room with considerable help from Vitti and reserve center Joe Kleine. The same locker room where O’Neal, and his ankle-to-thigh splint, was watching the game on television.

“I can’t tell you exactly what happened,” Horry said later. “I didn’t hear a pop or [feel] a twinge. I just felt pain.”

The Lakers, trying to improve to 3-0 against the SuperSonics and win the playoff tiebreaker, could feel the energy drain from their bodies.

“You could just sense it,” Nick Van Exel said. “The crowd got quiet. You could hear a pin drop.”

The Lakers temporarily lost the lead, but recovered enough to have a series of ties as the teams traded scores, the last time at 89-89 with 2:25 left. But when Seattle went on a 6-0 run from there, the hosts were finished, even after Jones’ driving layup got them back to 95-91 with 1:24 to play.

That turned out to be their last basket, and Hersey Hawkins followed with a three-point basket for the SuperSonics. That came after Detlef Schrempf had scored 10 points in the fourth quarter, giving him a game-high 34 while making 14 of 18 shots.