O’Neal, Horry Practice

Talk about the light at the end of the tunnel. The Lakers made their sighting Saturday afternoon, with Robert Horry and Shaquille O’Neal both at practice again, even if it was at different levels.

Horry went through his first full workout, two hours of scrimmages and drills at the Forum while pointing to, but not guaranteeing, a Tuesday return against Seattle. O’Neal, still prohibited from any contact, took part only in shooting drills, but that was still noteworthy because it marked his first participation with the Lakers since the Feb. 12 knee injury.

Having O’Neal as something more than a spectator may have been an emotional lift, but Horry’s participation was far more critical because the practice served as the final step in his comeback from a sprained knee ligament. If the practice, and the one that comes today, does not prompt any swelling or soreness in the joint, he probably will be activated after sitting out 20 games.

“It depends how I feel,” Horry said after slipping off the soft brace he will wear on the left leg for the rest of the season. “I’m not going to rush it. Hopefully, I will play against Seattle, but one game isn’t worth coming back for if it only hurts you for the next five.”

The early returns, though, were encouraging.

“The strength in the leg is there,” he said. “It’s the getting winded. That’s the only thing I’ve got to worry about.”

Said assistant coach Larry Drew, who also watched the made-for-Horry session earlier in the week that included some two-on-two and a refresher course on the offensive sets: “He looked better today than Tuesday, and today there was a lot more contact. He did look a little winded, which can be expected. But he’s starting to get into the flow of things. It’s just going to take a few days for him to get his legs under him.”

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The reemergence of Travis Knight has proven to be more than a one-game occurrence, just as Coach Del Harris had hoped when his former starting power forward came out from the shadows with 18 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks against New Jersey. Knight followed that by getting 10 rebounds and nine points in 21 minutes against Milwaukee and then a season-high 19 points and six rebounds at Vancouver.

“I feel a lot better out there,” he said. “Just getting back in a rhythm--that’s the best way to describe it. Sometimes you feel like nothing goes right, and then sometimes you feel like a lot of things go good.”

This is one of those good times. Not only does Knight have 30 rebounds the last three games, after averaging 2.9 the previous 14 outings, but 13 of them have come on the offensive end.