Lakers Tired but Satisfied

They were backed up against a wall Thursday night, which wasn’t necessarily the bad news for the Lakers. At least there was something to hold them up.

The bad news was that it was the Vancouver Grizzlies who pushed them there. Without Eddie Jones for the second game in a row because of a bruised calf and without much rest, the Lakers, feeling stretched as it is, were forced into overtime before prevailing, 102-98, before 18,722 at General Motors Place, a victory for their guts as much as the standings.

“We could have blamed it on the schedule and not gotten it done,” Jerome Kersey said. “But we showed some character.”

The Lakers, given a 92-90 lead when Kobe Bryant made two free throws with 3.3 seconds left, lost the chance to win then when Kersey made a major mistake and fouled Vancouver’s Chris Robinson with 2.8 seconds remaining while going for a steal at the three-point line. Williams then forced the extra period by making his two free throws.

From there, though, the Lakers took control, scoring on their first three possessions of overtime. Elden Campbell had a role in two of the baskets, with an assist that led to Corie Blount’s dunk and a couple of free throws, part of his 25 points, nine rebounds and three blocks. Bryant moved back to the forefront with a three-point basket and a tip-in, the latter that provided an insurmountable seven-point cushion with 1:13 remaining and the last of his 20 points.

It’s not as if the Grizzlies hadn’t seen this kind of thing before, either. Their last game was against a Los Angeles team, the Clippers, also in overtime.

This one, though, came with Greg Anthony sidelined by ankle and foot problems and with Bryant Reeves having fouled out with 35 seconds left in overtime. Campbell, by contrast, got his fifth foul with 5:38 to go in the fourth quarter--and played the rest of the way without a break or a sixth.

That was the Lakers. Stretched, just not far enough for the Grizzlies.

“That was the key,” Bryant said after his second consecutive start in place of Jones at shooting guard. “Elden did a great job of playing smart.”

Said Vancouver Coach Stu Jackson: “He played the last game down in L.A. against us with five fouls down the stretch as well, and was successful. Certainly, with Country [Reeves] out of the game, we couldn’t put as much pressure on him as we normally would have been able to. He’s a veteran and he’s used to playing like that, and he got away with it.”

Having pretty much covered the United States in the last week or so--the Rockies, the Deep South, the West Coast--it seemed fitting that the Lakers would make their tour of the continent complete and visit a place with a different culture. Not counting New Jersey.

Vancouver marked their sixth game in eight days, and on the second night of a back-to-back with a 2:30 a.m. arrival Thursday at the team hotel after beating the Bucks in Inglewood. So they knew going in there would be other challenges besides the Grizzlies, as if the Grizzlies who showed up weren’t enough of a problem on their own.

“I’m not sure,” Coach Del Harris said. “But I think it’s the only time we’ve ever done anything like that in 20 years in the NBA. And in six different cities. It’s an effort operation here tonight.”

Because of the fatigue.

“Sure,” Harris said. “Why wouldn’t there be? We’ve been getting in at 3 o’clock in the morning a lot these days.”

As if they’re used to late nights or something, the Lakers have mostly persevered. They came in having won eight of the previous 11 nightcaps after a 0-5 start to the season, a run that includes two of their biggest victories, by 25 against the Nets and 17 against the Nuggets.

The Grizzlies, however, never showed signs of falling into line, leading by as many as nine points in the first half and always staying within at least six. The worst team in the league gave the Lakers the worst time, all the way to the end of the fourth quarter, and then beyond.