Rice Is Eager to Find His Offensive Rhythm

Forward Glen Rice, who felt some improvement during his 29-minute, four-for-12 shooting performance in the Lakers’ loss at Sacramento on Sunday, said he knows the team is counting on him for scoring sooner rather than later.

“I think I’ve just got to continue playing and keep concentrating, because I know it’ll come,” said Rice, acquired last week from Charlotte and immediately labeled the last piece to the Lakers’ championship puzzle by Shaquille O’Neal and others.

“I don’t want it to be later, I want it to be now. It has to come now.”

Rice, who sat out the first month of the season after arthroscopic surgery on his shooting elbow, made his first three-pointer as a Laker in the third quarter Sunday--after six misses in his first two games.

The elbow, Rice says, is fine, and he doesn’t feel out of shape. And with Kobe Bryant and O’Neal drawing constant defensive attention, Rice has had plenty of open looks at the basket.

The problem is getting his legs underneath him for his long-range jumper, he said.

“The wind and everything is there, my legs. I’ve just got to continue to keep trying to get them a little stronger and from there everything will fall into place.

“Those shots that aren’t falling now, they’ll all start to go in when my legs are stronger.”

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Starting point guard Derek Harper, a key late scratch Sunday because of a sprained left ankle, practiced Monday with the team in Minneapolis and is expected to play tonight against newly acquired Timberwolf guard Terrell Brandon.

Harper’s absence meant that backup Derek Fisher was moved into the starting lineup and Bryant played about 10 minutes as the No. 2 point guard--most of those in an intriguing match-up against flashy King rookie Jason Williams.

“He did it well,” Coach Kurt Rambis said. “I don’t think that’s his best position, but we needed him to do it.”

TONIGHT at Minnesota, 5 PST

Channel 9, TNT

* Site--Target Center.

* Radio--KLAC (570 AM).

* Records--Lakers 16-7; Timberwolves 13-9.

* Record vs. Timberwolves--0-1.

* Update--These seem like totally different teams from when Minnesota and Stephon Marbury throttled a Del Harris-coached, Shaq-injured, no-Rodman Laker team earlier this season, 86-75. This will be the third game of Minnesota’s post-Marbury era, and third consecutive against a Western power after consecutive games against Utah.