Lakers Are No Menace to the Kings

You could tell how badly they wanted to avoid the parlor game, and still they were prodded to play.

Hey Lakers. . . . Where’s Weirdo?

Is he in Las Vegas or Newport Beach, flying to Texas or maybe wandering the Mojave Desert? Will he show up tomorrow or next weekend or maybe in June sometime?

Wherever Dennis Rodman was, he wasn’t present during the Lakers’ 105-101 loss to the Sacramento Kings on Sunday at a sold-out ARCO Arena, and neither was the Laker defensive intensity. Maybe that was coincidental, but probably not.

“Could we have used him tonight? Of course,” said Kobe Bryant, who scored 29 points, had 10 rebounds and also had to pitch in at point guard when Derek Harper (sprained left ankle) was a late scratch.

“But we also think it’s important for an individual to take care of his personal matters, whatever’s going on.”

Thus ended the 16-7 Lakers’ 10-game winning streak, which began one game before Rodman’s Laker debut.

Conveniently, it came against a team that ended another streak last week--the Clippers’ 17-game winless excursion. And it came against a team that had lost 10 in a row to the Lakers.

This one the Kings enjoyed a little more, from rookie point guard Jason Williams’ flying three-pointers (two killers in the fourth quarter as the Lakers tried a rally) to Chris Webber’s bruising post offense (19 points, 11 rebounds) to a combined 32 points out of Tariq Abdul-Wahad and Predrag Stojakovic (huh?), who consistently beat the Lakers downcourt.

In a rush of King fastbreaks and wide-open three-pointers, this loss came just in time to kick off the Lakers’ hardiest trip of the season.

Both 37-year-olds, Rodman and Harper, have been key participants in the Lakers’ recent defensive renaissance and ensuing victory spree.

“We’re not going to make excuses for absent players,” said Shaquille O’Neal, who had a game-high 33 points and 11 rebounds. “He had personal problems. Derek had an injury. Guys when they come in have to do the job. . . .

“It was our fault. We just have to start another streak. But 10 out of 11 games, I’ll take that any time.”

Harper, the starting point guard who suffered the injury in Friday night’s victory, is listed as day to day, and probably will play Tuesday in Minnesota.

Rodman, who took an indefinite leave of absence from the team Saturday to take care of personal issues, is officially listed as. . . . who knows?

“We obviously want him back as soon as possible,” said Laker Coach Kurt Rambis, who suffered the first loss of his 10-game head coaching career. “But he has some personal business he has to attend to. . . .

“It’s an adjustment we have to make, it’s something that we have to overcome. We can’t let it bother us. That’s just an excuse--if it comes out, ‘Well, we didn’t win because Dennis wasn’t there,’ that’s not fair to the other talented players on this ballclub.”

The Lakers, getting all their offense from O’Neal, Bryant and Travis Knight (15 points) trailed by five at halftime, tied the score once, at 63, midway through the third, but succumbed to a parade of Williams-Webber-and-wild-offense.

Rambis said that he took responsibility for the loss, that, because of his experience, he didn’t get the players into the right position or the right mental framework to win this game.

Said Rambis: “I have to be honest, we lost because of my experience as a coach. It was my fault. We didn’t execute, and I’m the person who has to find a way to get our guys to do that.”

But the defeat, of course, was not his fault, just as all the victories were not totally to his credit.

“I think Kurt is very, very honest, what he says is what he means,” Bryant said. “But at the same time, we’re the ones playing the game. Kurt prepares us great. We just didn’t do what we should’ve--we didn’t get back on defense, and you have to do that.”

Glen Rice, in his second game since being traded from Charlotte, again struggled with his shot, making only four of 12, but appeared to be finding his legs in the fourth-quarter rally try.

The Lakers, though, were not interested in finding solace.

“It hit hard,” Bryant said of tasting defeat for the first time since Feb. 23. “Because we had a 10-game win streak, it stings a little bit more.”

Isn’t 10 of 11 pretty good?

“I’ll take 11 of 11,” Bryant said, tersely. “I don’t want any of that 10 of 10, then lose one.”

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HE’S EXCUSED

Dennis Rodman will be paid for the games he misses. Page 4

ANOTHER LOSS

Clippers blow a third-quarter lead in 108-89 loss to Seattle. Page 5