Blood, Sweat, Tears for West and Lakers

By SCOTT HOWARD-COOPER

April 20, 1998 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

At once celebrating the day and cursing it, the Lakers earned part of the Pacific Division crown Sunday, a shared title that means absolutely nothing in the playoff seedings but that offers an absolute statement about their resolve.

It took wins in 22 of the last 25 outings to get there, capped by one of the most impressive, the 102-98 victory over the Utah Jazz in the regular-season finale before 17,505 at the Great Western Forum as Shaquille O’Neal had 33 points, 15 rebounds and four blocked shots. It took coming from 5 1/2 games back on March 3, and it took the Seattle SuperSonics, appearing as the SuperSonics of old, struggling to the finish line.

It came down to the Lakers, trying desperately to make up for those wasted moments against the lottery-bound that put them in such a hole in the first place, and the SuperSonics, again unable to make the present jibe with what should be their future.

And then both won on the final afternoon, after starting at the same time, seemingly running side by side to the end, making for a 61-21 finish and co-champions in only the third time in NBA history a division had two teams with 60 victories. It’s just that the SuperSonics won the important games--they beat the Lakers in three of their four meetings to earn the tiebreaker and the No. 2 spot in the Western Conference, worth a first-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

“I hope you all understand tiebreakers are only for the playoffs,” Laker Coach Del Harris was quick to point out. “We are co-champions.”

The Lakers get the Portland Trail Blazers, starting Friday at the Great Western Forum, and they get to wonder.

What if they had beaten the 76ers?

What if they had beaten the Warriors?

What if they had beaten the Celtics?

What if they had beaten the 76ers the other time?

After they did beat the Jazz for the third time in four tries, as Kobe Bryant scored 12 of his 25 points in the decisive fourth quarter, it became not so much about dwelling on the past as realizing what they had feared, that the lack of proper focus in December and January and February would cost them in April. Like it did Sunday, when a victory in any one of those would have made them solo champions.

“Just one of those games and there’d be a whole different look on the season,” Robert Horry said. “And we’d be getting ready to play Minnesota.”

Added Bryant: “Everybody’s happy that we won 61 games. But because of the competitive nature that we have, everyone’s like, ‘Damn, we should have won 62, 63, 64, 65.’ ”

Sixty-one at least meant the Lakers did their part--they beat the Jazz. But they also needed the Trail Blazers to beat the SuperSonics, which likewise was a close game before Seattle pulled away.

When a brief moment of the game in Portland was shown on the video screen during a timeout in Inglewood, fans booed at the scoreboard as Seattle’s Detlef Schrempf attempted two free throws.

When he made both, for a 88-82 lead with 44 seconds left, it all but ended Laker hopes to win the title outright. But it did not end the Lakers, at that time clinging to a 93-89 advantage.

They were ahead, 100-94, thanks to Laker scores in the three previous possessions, the biggest coming on Bryant’s 27-foot straight-away three-point basket with three seconds left on the shot clock.

“Nobody on this team is disappointed,” said Corie Blount, who came off the bench to contribute nine rebounds in 21 minutes, as many as Karl Malone had in 33 minutes.

“We played a good ballgame. To me, we just lost a game we shouldn’t have lost earlier in the season. But we won 61 games.”

Said Eddie Jones: “You’re happy you went out and beat a great team in a big game. On the same note, Seattle didn’t lose. You have to take the bad with the bad and the good with the good.”

There was plenty of both Sunday. The Lakers beat the team that tied for the best record in the league--with Utah playing Malone and John Stockton nine minutes in the fourth quarter--and won a share of the championship in one of the most competitive divisions ever and couldn’t help but feel a little bad.

“I know,” Jones said. “Isn’t it sad?”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

LAKERS vs. PORTLAND

Best-of-five series

* GAME 1: Friday at Forum, 7:30 p.m.

* GAME 2: Sunday at Forum, noon.

* GAME 3: April 28 at Portland, 7:30 p.m.

* GAME 4: April 30 at Portland, TBA.

* GAME 5: May 2 at Forum, TBA.

OTHER SERIES

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Houston vs. Utah