Lakers’ Van Exel Saves Best for Last

SACRAMENTO — Hesitate? Him?

“Me?” Nick Van Exel said. “Huh? Me hesitate on a shot?”

Not in this lifetime, not even late in a close game and eventual 90-83 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Thursday night, after he had missed eight of the first 10 tries and was visibly frustrated. Given another opportunity, he hit a three-pointer that put the Lakers ahead for a moment, then, left alone the next time down court, he made another that put them ahead to stay as they prevailed before 17,317 at Arco Arena.

Van Exel finished four of 13 from the field, good for 10 points along with six assists, but the back-to-back three-pointers compensated for everything bad. They were the biggest baskets as the Lakers, winning their fourth in a row and for the 10th time in 12 games, finished with a 16-3 charge the final 6:35.

“He gave us the two we had to have,” Coach Del Harris said.

Along the way, Shaquille O’Neal gave them 25 points and 13 rebounds, Elden Campbell a fourth consecutive double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds, Eddie Jones 20 points. Corie Blount, starting at small forward for the flu-ridden Jerome Kersey, responded with 11 rebounds.

Kersey, expected to play after missing practice Tuesday, got as far as LAX on Thursday morning before turning around and heading home, forcing the Lakers to play without a true small forward and with only 10 players, since Rumeal Robinson also was suffering from flu.

Likewise, the Kings had only 10 players, because two were sidelined because of flu. They were without their starting point guard, Tyus Edney, and the backup, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, which forced third-stringer Bobby Hurley into the starting lineup after having averaged 8.1 minutes in 19 previous appearances. And then Hurley got two fouls in the first 1:53.

Coach Garry St. Jean stayed with him then, playing Hurley 10 minutes in the first quarter, but only four more minutes in the second. That’s when Billy Owens brought the ball up in his familiar role as point forward, or when Mitch Richmond, in an unfamiliar role, was the primary ballhandler a few times.

The lack of a dependable point guard wasn’t the Kings’ early undoing, though. The defense that began the night 20th in the league in scoring and 18th in shooting was.

The Lakers in the second quarter shot 60% to build a 13-point lead late, pounding the ball inside to O’Neal, who had 16 points at halftime, and getting 10 points, including two three-pointers, from Eddie Jones. They were shooting 51.1% at halftime and led, 54-44.

It was a fitting way for them to begin the new year, seeing it was how the old one ended, the Lakers either fighting to overcome injuries or, on other occasions, prevailing without playing their best. They were 1 1/2 games ahead of the Seattle SuperSonics at the start of the night, after all, and had yet to really find good health or their stride through November or December. Searching for an identity, yes, but at least able to start looking toward the top of the Pacific Division.

“You’ve got to feel good about that,” Coach Del Harris said. “Nobody, you can’t find one publication, that said we’d be in first place and Seattle would be in second place on New Year’s day. It’s still a long season, but you can only evaluate what’s happened so far.

“We fell we can play better. We’ve been fortunate. We’ve won most of our close games, but we also feel like we ought to make improvements.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

A Season of Expectations

The Lakers acquired nine new players this season, including Shaquille O’Neal and his $120-million contract. In turn, with big acquisitions come big expectations. Throughout the season, The Times will monitor O’Neal’s numbers along with how the team compares to some of the best Laker teams in history.

GAME 32 OF 82

* Record: 23-9

* Standing: 1st place Pacific Division

1996-97 LAKERS VS. THE BEST LAKER TEAMS

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Year Gm. 32 Overall 1987-88 26-6 63-20 1986-87 26-6 65-17 1984-85 22-10 62-20 1979-80 22-10 60-22 1971-72 29-3 69-13

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Note: The five teams above all won NBA championships

THE SHAQ SCOREBOARD

Basketball Numbers

Friday’s Game:

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Min FG FT Reb Blk Pts 42 11-25 3-8 16 4 25

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1996-97 Season Averages:

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Min FG% FT% Reb Blk Pts 39.5 .558 .497 13.1 2.9 26.1

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1995-96 Season Averages:

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Min FG% FT% Reb Blk Pts 36.0 .573 .487 11.0 2.1 26.6

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Money Numbers

* Thursday’s salary: $130,658.53

* Season Totals: $4,181,072.96

* FACTOID: In Game 32 of the 1986-87 season, the Lakers extended their winning streak to eight with a 147-109 victory over Denver. James Worthy, Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar all scored over 20 points, prompting this response from Nugget Coach Doug Moe: “The other guys on the team, you can change their names and faces, but those three determine the level of play. This year, they’re determined to play at the highest level, which really ticks me off.”