Lakers Regain Their Edge

At the right spot, at the right time, the deluge hit, the levee broke, and does anybody wonder what Glen Rice can do in the Laker offense now?

Rice did not merely make his jump shots in Wednesday’s regular-season finale, he poured them in, submerging the Portland Trail Blazers in twine and leather.

The resounding result was a 119-91 Laker victory before 17,505 at the Great Western Forum, the team’s fourth consecutive victory, and perhaps a scouting report tip--No. 41 isn’t lost in the Lakers spot-up offense anymore.

The victory gave the Lakers (31-19) home-court advantage against the Houston Rockets in their upcoming playoff matchup and sent Pacific Division-champion Portland into the postseason against Phoenix with a high seeding and low self-esteem.

The Laker-Rocket series will start Sunday at the Forum.

The 28-point margin of victory was a nice bookend to Portland’s 27-point defeat of the Lakers on April 13.

And, as the Lakers’ playoff fortunes appeared to dim as Rice struggled to adjust to a low-post offense the past few weeks, things looked quite brighter in the afterglow of his swish-a-thon.

Hot hand? On his way to a Laker season-high 40 points, including a dizzying six-for-six three-point eruption in the third quarter, Rice had the building radiating for a little while.

“Tonight was a great example of when you use me,” Rice said. “We really moved the ball. And also I was thinking shot, the shot was going in. It really does make it a lot easier when the shot is going in.”

So Shaquille O’Neal didn’t win the scoring title--he fell 22 points short of toppling Allen Iverson.

But the Lakers go into the playoffs with the league’s No. 2 scorer, with Kobe Bryant, who had scored 33 in a half and 18 in a quarter this season, and Rice, who can make a jumper or two.

Rice, who admitted that he at times wondered if he would ever fit in properly after being traded to the Lakers from Charlotte on March 10, opened the game making his first four jump shots, including one three-pointer.

But that was only the entree.

With Portland in a trapping, chasing defense, Rice began the third quarter by nailing a three-pointer to put the Lakers ahead, 58-48, after a back-and-forth first half.

Rice made another three-pointer on the Lakers’ next possession.

Then Bryant interrupted the show with a three-pointer of his own.

Then Rice hit his third of the quarter. And another.

After a few minutes of letting other Lakers score, Rice buried two more, not touching the rim with any of them, and pushing the Laker lead to 28 points at 84-56--and his own total to 33.

“I always felt that I fit in--I just wanted to do more,” Rice said. “I know my capabilities, and I know the one thing that I can do for this team. If you allow me to do those things, I can assure you that I can make our chances of winning much better.”

“It’s a great feeling as a coach and a team to see things like that,” Kurt Rambis said of the players’ desire to let Rice keep shooting. “To me, it’s what team basketball is all about.”

“He couldn’t have picked a more perfect time,” Bryant said of Rice. “That was perfect timing.”

In the fourth quarter, Rice made his Laker-record-tying eighth three-pointer of the night (tying Nick Van Exel, who did it three times).

Seconds after that shot, Rice was removed from the game, bathed in applause and high-fived the hardest by O’Neal.

“I think any time you go out and you play as well as I did tonight and the crowd responds the way they did, it’s definitely uplifting,” Rice said.

Rambis said he made a joke in the huddle. “ ‘You guys want to change everything up now?’ Obviously, I got sarcastic looks over that one,” the coach said. “I said just keep doing what you’re doing until they put a stop to it.”

Rice made eight of his nine three-point tries, and was 14 of 20 overall.

“That was fun,” Rice said. “When you have a guy hot like that, you’ve really got to milk him. That was really evident that they were trying to get the ball to me.”

Under that pummeling, Portland, as it did last week also at the Forum, seemed to collapse, committing wild turnovers and allowing Rice the room to shoot.

Rasheed Wallace led Portland with 23 points, but only eight in the second half, when the Lakers outscored the Trail Blazers by 21 points.

What might the home-court advantage mean for the pairing against the Rockets?

The Lakers beat Houston twice this season at the Forum, but lost by 27 last month in their only appearance at Houston’s Compaq Center.

PLAYOFF MATCHUPS

LAKERS vs. ROCKETS

Best-of-five series

Game 1: Sunday at Lakers, 2:30 p.m.

Game 2: Tuesday at Lakers, 7:30 p.m.

Game 3: May 13 at Houston

Game 4*: May 15 at Houston

Game 5*: May 17 at Lakers

*-if necessary

OTHER SERIES

Western Conference

San Antonio vs. Minnesota

Utah vs. Sacramento

Portland vs. Phoenix

Eastern Conference

Miami vs. New York

Indiana vs. Milwaukee

Orlando vs. Philadelphia

Atlanta vs. Detroit

****

NBA BESTS

SCORING LEADER

Allen Iverson, Philadelphia: 26.8

REBOUNDING LEADER

Chris Webber, Sacramento: 13

ASSIST LEADER

Jason Kidd, Phoenix: 10.8

BEST RECORD

San Antonio and Utah: 37-13 (.740)

WORST RECORD

Vancouver: 8-42 (.160)

****

COVERAGE

RANDY HARVEY: O’Neal says getting the home-court advantage is more important to him than winning another scoring title. So he scores 18 points and is happy. Page 2

SEATTLE 107, CLIPPERS 105: Not even Donald Sterling is there for the team’s last game in the Sports Arena, and despite 30 points from Tyrone Nesby, a final opportunity is missed. Page 3