Blasting Impression

By TIM KAWAKAMI

May 12, 1999 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

Who knows how long it will last or how they got there or when or if it will ever end, but the Lakers reached the mountaintop Tuesday.

And they stayed there for a while, enjoying the view and the feeling of smashed-up Houston Rockets on the bottom of their shoes.

The Lakers did not simply hit their peak, they exploded somewhere beyond it, using pent-up energy and tapping potential heretofore unrealized.

They dropped in three-pointers, they took apart the Rocket offense, they passed the ball rhythmically, they hugged each other, they capitalized on everything that was there for them to take.

And the Lakers won Game 2 of this best-of-five series with a best-of-show performance, 110-98, before 17,505 at the Great Western Forum.

The Lakers are up, 2-0, and can clinch this first-round series with a victory in Game 3, set for Thursday in Houston, and there was not a lot displayed by the Rockets that gave much indication of anything other than that.

It was 31-12 after one quarter and Houston’s future Hall of Fame trio of Charles Barkley, Hakeem Olajuwon and Scottie Pippen was thoroughly outplayed by just about any three Laker players you want to name.

But the main and striking damage was done by Derek Fisher, who followed-up his 20-point effort in Game 1 with 16 more points--11 in the tone-setting first quarter--Shaquille O’Neal (28 points, seven assists) and a Laker defense that suffocated the Rockets.

“In my experience with Game 2s in the playoffs, they’ve always been different,” O’Neal said. “They come out different. You know, they’ve got legends over there, and they didn’t want to let us have our way.

“But we played well, we moved the ball well, we played very good defense, we played good, unselfish basketball.

“If we can play like that, sky’s the limit for this team.”

At the end of it, the Rockets appeared stunned and grumbling.

Pippen scored only three points on the night, Olajuwon only eight, and Barkley muscled his way to 19 points and 13 rebounds but did not have the same effect he had on Game 1.

If not for reserve Sam Mack, who scored a team-high 20 points, the Rockets might have lost by 30.

“Hakeem’s still the best big man to me,” said O’Neal, whose five blocked shots give him nine in the series. “For a guy like me, when I play the best, I have to play my best. I don’t really want to get embarrassed out there.”

After a taut one-point victory in Game 1 on Sunday, the Lakers exploded out of the blocks with fervor, sustaining the sprint through the toughest patches, and roaring to a finish that just about blew the Rockets to bits.

Fisher, who made four of six three-point shots in Game 1, was the pace-setter again, nailing open three-pointers when the Houston defense bended away from him to concentrate on O’Neal, Kobe Bryant and Glen Rice.

After these two playoff performances, you can call him Fisher the swisher.

“It all started with Fish tonight,” forward Robert Horry said. “He came out shooting the ball and when you have a guy who’s not really the go-to guy shooting it well, it makes it easier for everybody else.

“And we just rolled from that point on.”

What was left for the Rockets after the Lakers jumped to a double-digit lead in the first quarter was a series of counterattacks, all of which were foiled by Laker long-distance shooting and scrambling defense.

The final, desperate Houston charge began early in the fourth when the Lakers got a little sloppy with the ball and Antoine Carr and Barkley got hot.

Four consecutive open Rocket jump shots knocked the lead back down to 13 points with 8:49 left in the game, and triggered a Laker timeout.

But one last time, the Lakers repelled the Rockets, getting two O’Neal baskets and an Horry three-pointer to go up, 98-79, with just over seven minutes left.

To that point, Pippen and Olajuwon had combined to score nine points--five fewer than Fisher.

“Any time you’ve got a big man who doesn’t mind passing the ball, that helps everybody else out,” Horry said. “[O’Neal] gave the ball to Fish, Fish was stroking the ball well, and it fueled everybody else.”

Houston was held to 39.7% field-goal shooting, including 0 for 8 by Michael Dickerson, three for 10 by Olajuwon and 0 for 7 by Pippen. The Lakers, meanwhile, were 10 for 18 on three-pointers.

And were the Rockets demoralized?

“Hopefully, but we can’t be thinking about that,” Bryant said. “They’re a veteran ballclub.

“We’re very confident. At the same time, we realize we haven’t accomplished anything. We’re still hungry. We’re still thirsty.”

Rocket Coach Rudy Tomjanovich didn’t disagree.

“The way I saw it, one team came out chewing [nails], and the other came out for a day at the beach,” Tomjanovich said. “They just kicked our butts right from the opening gun.”

LAKERS vs. HOUSTON

Lakers lead best-of-five series, 2-0

Game 1: L.A. 101, Rockets 100

Game 2: L.A. 110, Rockets 98

Game 3: Thurs. at Houston, 6:30 p.m., Channel 9, TNT

Game 4*: Saturday at Houston, TBA, Channel 4

Game 5*: Monday at Forum, 7:30 p.m., Fox Sports West

* if necessary

RANDY HARVEY: With Jerry West talking, Derek Fisher making his shots and Robert Horry playing defense against his old team, it was a good day for the Lakers. Page 2

****

GAME 2 RECAP

SCORE BY QUARTERS

*--*

L.A. Hou. First 3 12 Second 24 28 Third 32 28 Fourth 23 30 Final 110 98

*--*

****

HIGH SCORERS

Lakers: Shaquille O’Neal 28, Kobe Bryant 19, Derek Fisher 16

Houston: Sam Mack 20, Charles Barkley 19, Brent Price 18

HIGH REBOUNDERS

Lakers: Robert Horry 10