Jackson Gives Harper a Bit of a Break

As he looks to get more successful action out of the bench, Coach Phil Jackson suggested that he’d like to continue to limit the wear and tear on 36-year-old guard Ron Harper.

Harper averaged 27.4 minutes through the first 46 games, but has played fewer than 24 minutes in three of the last four games, with Derek Fisher and Brian Shaw increasing their roles.

“I like the effort Harp can give in 24 minutes,” Jackson said after Sunday’s practice. “I’ve played him longer minutes because he’s played well against teams in critical times.

“I’m trying to see how to shorten his minutes, keep them potent minutes, but not feel like I have to play him quite so long [and] between Derek and Brian kind of find a balance.

“It’s really tough in the NBA to have a four-guard rotation. That’s one of the most difficult things. I’d like to see if we can’t find a way to do that.”

Jackson said he especially liked the way Travis Knight and Rick Fox played during extended time in the blowout victory over Utah on Friday, and suggested that Fox and Glen Rice could see a lot of action together as a forward tandem.

TONIGHT

vs. Denver

7:30, Fox Sports Net

* Site--Staples Center.

* Radio--KLAC (570).

* Records--Lakers 35-11, Nuggets 21-24.

* Record vs. Nuggets--1-1.

* Update--Nick Van Exel missed Denver’s overtime loss to Minnesota on Saturday because of a sore groin, but Kobe Bryant had little doubt about the former Laker point guard’s status for tonight. “Oh, he’ll play,” Bryant said. “Nick was just resting up. He knows I’ve got a lot of energy.” The Nuggets are 3-15 on the road, including a 130-95 Laker pounding last month.

* Tickets--(213) 480-3232.