Relief Sought After Florida Trip

At least there wasn’t much humidity.

Otherwise, the Lakers in general and Nick Van Exel in particular would like to forget their three days in Florida, site of two lost games, 10,000 lost dollars and countless disappointments. Heading to the Meadowlands never looked so good

Getting demolished by the Orlando Magic on Sunday, in the wake of the heartbreaking loss Friday in Miami, the one that was followed by Van Exel jokingly accusing the referees of betting on the game and getting hit with a $10,000 fine was the capper. Van Exel, riding a hot hand after a prolonged shooting slump, went four of 12 from the field on a day when all the Lakers struggled, finishing at only 38.8%.

“I think particularly Nick wanted to do well because of his situation in Miami,” Coach Del Harris said. “I think of all the guys in the locker room, he wanted to win more than anybody, including me. And that’s saying something.”

Meanwhile, less than a week after expressing concern that his Lakers were getting too caught up in the officiating, Harris found himself back on the topic, courtesy of Van Exel. But, after Friday declining post-game interviews for the first time in his career when he hadn’t been ejected, Harris still wouldn’t talk about the one-point loss to the Heat.

“There’s nothing good I can say about it,” he said, “so I choose to say nothing. They [the Lakers] invested so much energy and emotion and enthusiasm in the game, it [controversial calls by the officials] was just a difficult way to lose the game.”

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Shaquille O’Neal wasn’t completely absent Sunday at Orlando Arena. During a stop in play, an ever-so-brief recording of one his rap songs was played in the public-address system. The crowd immediately booed.

“I did notice that because, of course, that’s one of my favorite songs,” Harris said. “And, naturally, I started gyrating with the first couple bars.”