Lakers Avert Worst-Case Scenario

OK, so it wasn’t the Sacramento Kings.

That was Mark Blount lining up at center against Shaquille O’Neal on Saturday night, not Vlade Divac.

That was Junior Harrington bringing the ball up court, not Mike Bibby.

But when you’ve been struggling and stumbling and sputtering as the Lakers have, you are happy for the chance, any chance, to rebuild confidence, regain dominance and take your victories where you find them.

Saturday night, the Lakers found themselves at the Pepsi Center playing against the Denver Nuggets, arguably the worst team in the league, indisputably the worst in the Western Conference, and they took advantage of the opportunity, cruising to a 112-93 win in front of a sellout crowd of 19,099.

In improving to 12-19, the Lakers beat a team that fell to 6-23, lost its ninth in a row and dropped to 4-11 at home.

“We’re happy as long as they are Ws, not Ls,” guard Derek Fisher said after the Lakers won for only the third time in 16 games away from Staples Center this season.

There was plenty for them to be happy about. Kobe Bryant, despite playing with a slightly sprained right wrist, came out hot, hitting his first nine shots, and finished 15 for 26 with a game-high 39 points. O’Neal scored 22, pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds and showed some of the bounce and movement that has often been absent since his return from off-season toe surgery.

Before the game, Coach Phil Jackson had discussed his center’s struggles for the umpteenth time.

“He’s just not as mobile,” Jackson said, “not as active to the ball. There’s an economy of motion. He’s saving steps a little bit.”

Not in the first quarter, though, when O’Neal, perhaps invigorated by his wedding Thursday, put on a coast-to-coast show that brought back memories of a younger, friskier Shaq.

Under the Denver basket, O’Neal blocked a driving layup attempt by Rodney White, secured the ball, took off downcourt on a dribble drive, spotted Bryant breaking for the basket and launched a perfectly timed alley-oop pass that Bryant slammed through the hoop.

As he headed back up court, O’Neal offered a wink to the press table.

That was the only clue to how he felt about the play, since O’Neal again was a no-show in the locker room after the game. He hasn’t conducted a postgame interview in three weeks, since the Lakers beat the Dallas Mavericks at Staples Center on Dec. 6. And it took the biggest comeback in team history to nudge that interview out of him.

On a night the Lakers equaled their season high with the 112 points and shot a season-best 58.4% from the floor, some of the reserves also got playing time, notably Tracy Murray, who scored seven points, hitting three of four from the field.

“He was very aggressive,” said Jackson. “He shot the ball well. He helped himself.”

All the numbers weren’t positive for the Lakers, however. They continued their tendency to turn the ball over, a fault that has been a key factor in their season-long slump.

They committed 19 turnovers Saturday night to only 12 for the Nuggets.

“It’s not like [the Nuggets] were pressuring us,” said Brian Shaw. “It’s just that we got careless, sloppy with the ball. It’s something we’ve just got to keep working on.”

Another negative Laker tendency surfaced Saturday, their habit of letting seemingly beaten opponents get back into games. The Laker killer instinct, a major asset during their championship runs the last three seasons, continues to be missing in action.

Saturday, ahead by 13 points early in the third quarter and apparently cruising, the Lakers allowed the hapless Nuggets to go on a 10-0 run.

But this time, the Lakers withstood the charge, then went on one of their own.

“In the past, we have struggled in that situation,” Bryant said. “When a team gets back in the game, it has stayed in the game. Tonight, that wasn’t the case.”

That’s not the only thing that has changed, according to Bryant. The Laker attitude, he said, has undergone a transformation.

“We understand,” he said, “that we are faced with a big challenge, and we are starting to get excited about it. We are not down. We are tired of going through the same old, same old. The competitive juices are starting to flow.”

Of course, beating up on poor, inept Denver is one thing. Picking on someone their own size, like Sacramento, is quite another matter.

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Long Road Back

The team with the worst record to make the Western Conference playoffs last season finished 44-38. How Lakers need to finish season to reach that record.

*--* WINS LOSSES TO REACH 44 38 CURRENT 12 19 MUST GO 32 19

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GAMES OUT OF PLAYOFF SPOT...4 1/2