Lakers Caught in Mousetrap

The Mouse that roared also came as a silencer to the Lakers, their plans for the quietest time of all, several days off before starting the Western Conference semifinals, ruined by Damon Stoudamire’s first real playoff appearance.

Mute the first two games, shooting at 35.5%, in what was allegedly the first postseason of his career, the 5-foot-10 point guard known as Mighty Mouse scored on three consecutive possessions to give his hometown Trail Blazers the lead with 8:45 left in the fourth quarter and got nine of his 18 points in the quarter to give them another day.

Their 99-94 victory Tuesday night at the Rose Garden, despite 36 points and16 rebounds by Shaquille O’Neal, cut the Lakers’ lead in the best-of-five first-round series to 2-1, to say nothing of the Lakers’ travel plans.

They already had checked out of their hotel and hoped to return to Los Angeles late Tuesday.

They had hoped to return to Los Angeles, in fact, for a while, knowing the Seattle-Minnesota series could run until Saturday and push the start of the second round back to Monday or Tuesday, possibly making for a week off to prepare.

Instead, they get a Game 4 against the Trail Blazers.

O’Neal was the first to admit he had not been the same dominating player the first two games of the series as he was at the end of the regular season, when he averaged 33.8 points and 10.6 rebounds in the final 10 contests and scored at least 20 points before halftime in four consecutive outings. In what would have been the fifth in a row, he had 19.

The playoffs brought impressive numbers, but not an impressed player. He made 13 of 20 shots in the opener Friday, scored 30 points and added seven rebounds and three blocks, and the Lakers needed that to win by two. Sunday, they blew open the game in the third quarter, had an easier time and won by nine, but O’Neal had only nine rebounds and 19 points on seven-of-15 shooting, the first time he hadn’t scored at least 20 since March 1 .

“I haven’t had a real Shaq O’Neal game, I hope you know that,” he said about 90 minutes before tipoff Tuesday. “The first game was a dirty 30. The second game, I didn’t do much.”

What appeared at the time to be commentary quickly emerged, instead, as a warning.

O’Neal missed his first shot, from close range, and then made his next five. A highlight-reel throw-down off Rick Fox’s lob. A six-footer from the left side. A fall-away from the right post. A dunk. An offensive rebound that became a layin.

Oh, and it was a warmup. The 10 points in that time, and the showcasing the repertoire, was followed by the second quarter . . . and a 12-point performance. That gave him 22 points and eight rebounds in 19 minutes and carried the Lakers to a 50-48 lead at intermission.

If the 30 in Game 1 was dirty, this was downright swimming in slop. In one stretch of the second quarter, he scored six of his team’s eight points and assisted on the other basket, a nice pass to beat another double-team that became a layup by Fox.

Imagine if O’Neal were healthy. Both sore thumbs, from unrelated injuries about three weeks apart, remain troublesome, especially the left one, even if he has stopped taping that one for support and protection. Of course, it’s tough for them to heal if opponents are intentionally chopping at the hands as he shoots and goes for rebounds, which he believes to be the case.

“Probably,” O’Neal said. “I would do it if I was them.”

On this night, the Trail Blazers simply waited for the third quarter. O’Neal not only stopped making a run at his playoff career high of 46 points--set almost exactly one year earlier, April 25, also against the Trail Blazers in the first round--he practically stopped altogether. He played 12 minutes, but took only one shot, which missed, and grabbed two rebounds.

The Lakers, though, survived. The two-point halftime edge held up for a 72-69 lead heading into the final period, thanks to their 55.6% shooting in the third quarter while the Trail Blazers shot 35%.

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* FANGS BARED: The Minnesota Timberwolves stunned Seattle, 98-90, to take a 2-1 series lead. C9