Hot Tip Leaves Lakers Cold

Kurt Rambis wanted movement?

You could feel the earth move . . . and Rambis’ heart pound, and Jerry West’s jaw clench, and a multitude of uncomfortable thoughts invade the Laker populace Friday.

You could also hear the crowd at the Great Western Forum, sold out and seriously perturbed, groan and grumble.

Then, after Chris Webber sliced in for a game-winning tip-in of Vlade Divac’s miss with .4 seconds left to lift the Sacramento Kings to a 111-109 victory, there was only silence, pierced by a few boos.

“I’m embarrassed, personally,” Derek Harper said. “They kind of did to us what we did to Orlando in Orlando Sunday [when the Lakers came back from a 24-point deficit to win].

“We’re fooling ourselves right now if we think we’re tied together defensively. I think our biggest problem is that we’re thinking offense first.”

Glen Rice almost saved the Lakers, almost erased the most embarrassing loss of the Laker season--and second home defeat in three days, after Wednesday’s loss to the Phoenix Suns.

The Lakers led by 16 at halftime, but desperately needed Rice to score 10 points in the final 3:28, and it still wasn’t enough.

After Sacramento crafted a 105-99 lead with 2:41 left, Rice put the Lakers ahead, at last, on a jumper with 57.7 seconds left. About 20 seconds later, J.R. Reid made one of two free throws, to make the lead 109-106.

But one last Laker defensive lapse ended it.

After a spin shook his defender at the top of the circle, Vernon Maxwell threw in a 25-footer to tie the score, 109-109, with 29.1 seconds left.

On the Lakers’ ensuing possession, Harper missed an open three-pointer, giving the Kings the ball with 5.5 seconds left. Divac missed his jumper, and Webber won the board battle for the basket.

Rambis put Dennis Rodman (and his new blond hairstyle) in the starting lineup, but things didn’t immediately take off for the Lakers--they went through a familiar-looking, aimless eight-minute stretch to start the game which produced a 16-10 Sacramento lead.

Then, with Derek Fisher, Robert Horry, Reid, Kobe Bryant and Rick Fox, the Lakers moved better, spread the ball around, and starting swishing three-pointers at a rapid pace.

Fisher made the first three-pointer with 3:49 left, launching the Lakers’ most prolific burst of scoring this season, including three three-pointers by Fox and several Bryant slashes.

Over the final 15:49 of the first half, the Lakers scored 52 points, giving them a 62-46 halftime lead, their second-biggest halftime lead this season.

Rodman played only eight minutes in the second half, and Rambis flared when asked what caused that particular coaching decision.

“I guess I have to take the blame for that,” Rambis said after a long pause. “Even though I’ve not going to say what happened.”

What happened?

“Look, we’re not going to do 20 questions on this,” Rambis said. “That’s the end of it--coach’s decision.”

Will Rodman remain a starter?

“I’m not sure,” Rambis said.

Rambis, though, was a lot more clear when asked why the second half developed as disastrously as it did.

“We didn’t come out with any intensity in the second half,” Rambis said. “I didn’t see anything [other than the intensity] that was a whole lot different... it’s just like turning the faucet off.”

Horry, who played 22 productive minutes (seven rebounds, five points), said it was obvious that the Lakers started cruising in the second half, thinking the game was already won.

“Any time we have a big lead, we have a tendency to freelance,” Horry said. “We let them get into their rhythm, and Sacramento’s too good a team to let that happen.

“It was ridiculous the way we played in the second half.”

Bryant, who led the Lakers with 26 points and six assists, said this was simply a lesson the team has to learn.

“We’re going to make mistakes, we’re going to get our butts kicked sometimes,” Bryant said. “We just have to take this butt-kicking and move on.”

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SEATTLE: 104

CLIPPERS: 98

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