It Should Be a Scream

All 17,317 seats at Sacramento’s Arco Arena will be filled today. The voices will be loud, the energy palpable, the passion fierce.

And sometime in the first quarter, after a dunk by Chris Webber, or a rebound by Vlade Divac or a smooth defensive stop by Doug Christie, the chant will begin: “Beat L.A.! Beat L.A.! Beat L.A.!”

The Lakers, reeling from thorough beatings in Texas earlier this week--by the Dallas Mavericks and the San Antonio Spurs--find themselves back on the bumpy road again today with the stakes even higher and the environment even meaner. They will take on the Kings, who lead them by 11/2 games with 14 to play in the race for the Pacific Division title and the home-court advantage that goes with it should they meet in the playoffs.

The Kings are 32-3 at Arco, the best home record in the league.

And this is hardly a one-year phenomenon. Over the last three seasons, the Kings are 95-22 at home.

Impressive? Laker forward Mark Madsen shrugs.

“I think home-court advantage is overrated,” he said. “There have been times when we have played great on the road and times when we have been not so great at home. I think the fact teams have trouble on the road is more a matter of playing the second of back-to-back games, or coming in on a trip at 4 in the morning and having to play the next night.”

Still, said Madsen, there is no question Arco Arena seethes with emotion.

“It can be a tough place to play,” he said. “It is the major venue for hundreds of miles around. They don’t just get fans from Sacramento. They get people from all over that area. And attending a Kings game is one of the big things to do in that town. So it’s understandable why the fans get excited.

“But we don’t get intimidated by the emotion of the building. If anything, it fires us up.

“It’s fun to play in an arena with that much energy.”

The record seems to bear Madsen out. Although they lost in their only other Sacramento appearance this season, 97-91 in December, the Lakers haven’t had a losing record on the Kings’ home court in seven years.

Laker Coach Phil Jackson also shrugs off the Arco factor. “We still have to play,” he said, “regardless of how loud the fans yell or how much strength they give their team.”

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Laker guard Derek Fisher sprained his right index finger in Friday night’s victory over the Detroit Pistons, but the injury is not expected to affect his playing time. He shoots left-handed.

For the Kings, swingman Peja Stojakovic (strained right hamstring) and guard Mateen Cleaves (strained right foot) are questionable.

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TODAY

at Sacramento, 3:30 p.m.

Channel 4

Site--Arco Arena.

Radio--KLAC (570).

Records--Lakers 48-20, Kings 49-18.

Record vs. Kings--1-1.

Update--Stojakovic led the Kings with 25 points against the Lakers in December. His replacement, Hedo Turkoglu, had a career-high 31 points (12 of 15 from the field, including three of five three-point attempts), nine rebounds and a career-high 10 assists Thursday against Denver.

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Steve Springer