LAKER-CLIPPER REPORT

Jammed between the Clippers and a trip to Gary Payton’s Pink Slip Emporium, the Lakers host the Indiana Pacers tonight in one of the least-hyped NBA championship rematches.

You remember.

The guys stomping through the confetti last June 19, the ones not hanging from Shaquille O’Neal’s neck like a bolo tie? Those were the Pacers.

Laker Coach Phil Jackson said it would be strange to have them back, five months later, no Larry Bird, no Mark Jackson, no Dale Davis.

“They had a team of very veteran players,” the Laker coach said. “The Knicks went through that last year and ended up giving up [Patrick] Ewing this year and [John] Starks the year before that. That’s a decision you have to make in this business, as to [how long] do you keep a group of veterans together and how far can you go with it. Change is what sports are all about.”

Mark Jackson was lost to free agency. Davis was traded to Portland for Jermaine O’Neal and Joe Kleine.

“They put themselves in a situation that made the challenge even harder,” Rick Fox said. “How it works out in the future, I don’t know.”

*

Phil Jackson blamed the NBA--and its door-slightly-ajar media policy--for getting Paul Westphal fired Monday in Seattle.

“Our business is too damned public,” he said. “The league lets too many of you damned guys around us too often. It becomes exposed, and it looks like poor management in the end result. Coaches end up paying for it.”

TONIGHT

Lakers vs. Indiana

7:30, Fox Sports Net

* Site--Staples Center.

* Radio--KLAC (570).

* Records--Lakers 10-4, Pacers 6-6.

* Record vs. Pacers (1999-2000)--1-1.

* Update--The Pacers swapped one Indiana legend (Larry Bird) for another (Isiah Thomas). The results have been uneven. Point guard Jalen Rose fractured his left wrist during the exhibition season. He returned Thanksgiving and scored 16 points but missed 12 of 17 field-goal attempts. With Sam Perkins on injured reserve, Thomas is tinkering with Derrick McKey at starting forward and Jermaine Allensworth at center. Austin Croshere has a slightly sprained ankle but is expected to play.

* Tickets--(213) 480-3232.