Lakers Put On Sunday Best

When the Lakers beat the Sacramento Kings on Sunday afternoon, Shaquille O’Neal was at the end of their bench, beside Mike Penberthy, a large diamond smoke detector-sized thing dangling from his neck.

Kobe Bryant toiled before him, his hip so sore he could barely run, his shoulder no use at all, the pad on his elbow growing by the game; he missed more than two-thirds of his shots.

As much as they might have wanted to, between O’Neal’s damaged arch and Bryant’s bum body, neither player could properly celebrate the moment the gloom lifted at Staples Center.

That is, when five Lakers scored in double figures and Chris Webber clanked two dunks and the people here sang, “DEE-fense!” and the Lakers won, 100-94, in a game that otherwise would have designated the Kings the team to chase in the Western Conference. As it was, they remain formidable in the Pacific Division, but 0-2 against the Lakers.

Honestly, they probably would not have jumped around anyway. Not their style and not the time of year, so O’Neal followed Penberthy off the floor and Bryant slung his head back and left the accomplishment to his teammates, finally, who ripped the game away from the Kings.

“It sends a strong message that it’s not about who scores,” Laker forward Rick Fox said, “but about how we score.”

Not only that, but how they defend, and compete, and exhaust themselves together.

In a game that was presumed to fall to Kobe versus all the Kings’ men, Greg Foster scored 11 points in the first quarter, Robert Horry scored a season-high 20 points, Horace Grant pushed Webber around the best he could, and Fox hounded Peja Stojakovic into seven points.

The Lakers did not fall into each other’s arms or anything quite so inflated. But they laughed, and they slapped each other’s hands, and Brian Shaw, at the end, poked Bryant, who scored 26 points, in the gut at the very same spot on the court where he chastised Bryant for not passing enough two nights before.

They all seemed to appreciate what they had, which was a nice team effort in the first game they were not expected to win here since they won the NBA title.

“That was one of our better games of the year, against a really good team,” Laker Coach Phil Jackson said. “We’ve had a lot of good wins at home, but I think this one has to stand out.”

The Kings made only 40.4% of their field goals. Webber, the conference MVP in the season’s first half, was 12 for 32 from the field. Though the Kings were much more aggressive near the basket, they shot only 15 free throws, which annoyed them.

This is what should have bothered them: The Lakers played harder, despite having no O’Neal and only half of Bryant. Foster had nine rebounds with his 13 points. Grant had 10 rebounds and 10 points. Bryant had 11 rebounds.

“It’s encouraging for us to know we can beat them without Shaq in there,” Shaw said. “We still feel like we’re a good team. We just haven’t played well.”

Racked by the emotional strain of three months of Shaq versus Kobe, and then having Bryant run off with the offense when O’Neal was hurt, the Lakers were playing “depressed” basketball, according to Jackson. It was in their game, in the way they ran the offense and helped each other on defense, and even in the expressions on their faces. They were glum and didn’t care who knew.

Then Foster made some jump shots. Horry made three three-point shots in a three-minute span from late in the first quarter to early in the second. And when the Kings tied the score, 87-87, with five minutes left and even had a possession that could have given them their only lead of the game, Grant made a layup and Bryant made a jumper.

The fans cried “Or-EE! Or-EE!” when Horry made a running, left-handed finger roll and converted the three-point play with 1:21 left. It gave the Lakers a 94-89 lead, and they made all of their free throws down the stretch.

“We’re starting to figure some things out as a team, as a unit, how to win,” Bryant said. “The thing I’m most proud of is the job we’ve done on defense, especially when we needed big stops. We were able to get it.”

Their depression appeared to fade every time Webber scowled at a referee after a miss, every time Grant or Horry put a hand in his face and hoped he’d miss.

“If I’m taking 32 shots, I’m not going to miss 20 of them,” Webber said. “That has something to do with taking 32 shots, it has something to do with getting fouled in the paint. It has something to do with that. I don’t just miss shots all the time.”

Stojakovic was no factor. Jason Williams had one assist and four points in 20 minutes.

“We played with some heart,” Foster said. “At some point, we’ve got to have some fun.”

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LOS ANGELES LAKERS

A look at the playoff seedings in the Western Conference if the season ended today:

1. Sacramento 31-13 .705

2. Utah 31-15 .674

3. Portland 34-15 .694

4. San Antonio 29-15 .659

5. Lakers 30-16 .652

6. Minnesota 31-18 .633

7. Dallas 30-18 .625

8. Phoenix 27-19 .587

Laker record against those teams:

1. Sacramento 2-0

2. Utah 1-2

3. Portland 1-2

4. San Antonio 1-1

6. Minnesota 1-1

7. Dallas 2-0

8. Phoenix 1-0

Against playoff teams 9-6

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Holding Their Own

The Lakers have played their last five games without center Shaquille O’Neal, who has a sprained right arch. Statistics from those games, the previous five games and the first 41 games of the season:

*--*

Last Previous First 5 Games 5 Games 41 Games Record 3-2 3-2 27-14 Win Pct. .600 .600 .658 Points Scored Per Game 90.6 106.8 101.2 Points Allowed Per Game 92.8 97.2 97.5 Times Allowed 100 Points 0 3 20* Field-Goal Pct. .466 .471 .470 Opp. Field-Goal Pct. .414 .448 .442 Free-Throw Pct. .865 .609 .645 Free-Throw Pct. of .865 .750 .709 Players Other Than O’Neal Points Per Game 34.8 27.2 29.2 For Kobe Bryant Pct. of Team Points .384 .263 .289 Scored by Kobe Bryant Pct. of Team Shots .317 .269 .277 Taken by Kobe Bryant

*--*

* Lakers allowed 100 points or more in 20 games last season when they had a 67-15 record. They had a 12-8 record in games they allowed 100 or more points, just as they do this season.

*

COVERAGE

Hip injury is latest ailment to hit Bryant, who remains uncertain about his status for the All-Star game. D7

ALSO

LEARNING EXPERIENCE

After playing sparingly Saturday night, four young Clippers handled it in different ways. D6

RICE ON THE MARK

Glen Rice scored 29 points as the Knicks held on to defeat the Heat, 103-100, in overtime at Miami. D6