He Has Had Supporting Role Before

When actor Jack Nicholson, seated courtside at Staples Center on Friday night, stood and screamed at referee Mark Wunderlich in the midst of Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals, it was labeled “Anger Management,” playing off Nicholson’s latest film.

Actually, it was “Anger Management II.”

Nicholson has been a fan fixture at Laker games since the 1970s, seated with arms folded, a grin or scowl on his face depending on the Laker fortunes. But apparently, once every quarter century, he goes into the Cuckoo’s nest.

In a 1980 game between the Lakers and the Washington Bullets at the Forum, Laker defender Michael Cooper crashed into Washington’s Kevin Grevey as Grevey was taking a shot from the corner.

When there was no call by the referee, Washington coach Dick Motta rushed the scorer’s table.

Enter Nicholson.

“He grabbed my leg and I don’t need that,” Motta said after the game.

At halftime, the two spoke.

“I asked him if he really needed the publicity that bad,” Motta said. “I told him I invested in one of his films once and lost a lot of money. I asked him if he wanted to be one of my assistant coaches and he said he’d like that.”

Of course he would. Then he could really go after the officials.

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Nicholson became enraged after Shaquille O’Neal was called for his third foul in the second quarter.

“I’m glad somebody sticks up for me -- I appreciate it, Jack,” O’Neal said.

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Laker forward Devean George knows his teammates admired his unexpected return from a sprained left ankle in Game 3 against the San Antonio Spurs, a return that seemed to inspire his team. But George knew that admiration wouldn’t protect him from the sharp needle of teammate Robert Horry.

Sure enough, as George spoke to reporters Saturday at the team’s HealthSouth Training Center in El Segundo, Horry walked by, glanced at George in the middle of the media mob and said with a smile, “He’s still a bum.”

Guard Derek Fisher said the quick recovery by George, now in his fourth season with the Lakers, could be “a big step for him in his career. Those are the types of moments in his fifth, sixth and seventh seasons, he knows he’ll be able to push through whatever comes up. He’ll be able to build on this for a long time.”

George said that, when he injured the ankle in Game 1, he was certain at first he had broken it.

“I heard,” he said, “three pops in my ankle area.”

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Kobe Bryant, aggressive once again to the basket, shot 19 free throws Friday, making 17. In the first two games combined, he shot only 12 free throws, making nine.

Bryant’s 19 free-throw attempts were five fewer than the Spurs had collectively Friday night.

Associated Press contributed to this report.