Van Exel, Horry Doubtful Again

The first meeting between these teams, Dec. 17 in Chicago, wasn’t really between these teams. The Lakers were without Shaquille O’Neal, the Bulls minus Scottie Pippen.

Now comes the rematch, but the Lakers probably will be without two starters for the second time in three days, having listed Nick Van Exel and Robert Horry as doubtful for today’s nationally televised matchup with the defending NBA champions at the Great Western Forum.

“Am I expecting them to play?” Coach Del Harris said. “No.”

They didn’t play Friday against the Minnesota Timberwolves either, a 121-114 victory as Elden Campbell started for Horry at power forward and Derek Fisher replaced Van Exel at point guard, with mixed results. Early foul trouble limited Campbell to 20 minutes, creating an opportunity for Corie Blount, while Fisher had nine assists and no turnovers in 30 minutes.

Fisher didn’t get to finish what he started--Kobe Bryant played all of the decisive fourth quarter there. Bryant had 13 points and two assists as the Lakers broke free from an 88-88 tie heading into the final period, thanks mainly to penetration skills that can’t be stopped one-on-one and resulted in getting fouled and going to the line nine times. He converted six of the tries.

The Lakers continue to list Horry and Van Exel as day-to-day, so far uncertain whether they will be available for another tough game Wednesday, the meeting with the Portland Trail Blazers in the final contest before the all-star break. All Horry knows is that his strained abdominal muscle is not as bad as the one that has dogged O’Neal since the opening day of training camp. He knows because he asked.

“I asked Shaq,” Horry said. “Shaq had different pains than I did.”

Van Exel has a strained hip muscle, in addition to the ever-present sore knee.

TODAY

vs. Chicago

* 12:30

* Channel 4

Site--Great Western Forum.

Radio--KLAC (570), KWKW (1330).

Records--Lakers 32-11, Bulls 33-13.

Record vs. Bulls--0-1.

Update--Bad news arrived Friday night for the Lakers: Michael Jordan made two of 17 shots in the Bulls’ 87-80 victory at Golden State, giving him extra motivation to respond with an impressive performance today. The 14 points against the Warriors dropped his league-leading average all the way to 28.9, about three points better than anyone. Just as predictable, Dennis Rodman is No. 1 in rebounding, at 15.7 per game. The Bulls have won three in a row and eight of 10, proving that the league in general and the Eastern Conference in particular lost an opportunity to take advantage of Chicago’s early-season struggles and create some breathing room in the standings. Today, the Bulls are only half a game behind Indiana for the best record in the East.