Lakers Wait for No Man

Dennis Rodman was in the house, and so were several other Lakers who actually were signed and motivated and available to play Friday night.

Not that the Lakers couldn’t use a spare power forward these days--their top two, Robert Horry and Travis Knight, were sidelined, and the San Antonio Spurs’ David Robinson and Tim Duncan weren’t.

But Rodman’s (maybe?) future teammates did all right without him, roaring to life in the third quarter to rally past the Spurs, 106-94, before 17,505 at the Great Western Forum.

The victory was the Lakers’ third in a row as they prepare for an upcoming three-day, three-game trip.

“We had a great second half,” Coach Del Harris said. “Here’s something--we were the first team to score 100 points or more against them, and they’re the No. 1 defense in the league and were No. 1 last season.

“So how’s that about ugly offense?”

The key to it all was Derek Harper, who might have taken over the point guard position by zooming for 10 points in the first half, getting the nod over Derek Fisher in the third quarter, and triggering a crowd-pleasing 30-point Laker third quarter.

After an off-balance first half, the Lakers let San Antonio score a bucket to open the third quarter, then burst out of the blocks with 13 consecutive points, turning a seven-point Spur lead into a 58-52 Laker advantage halfway through the quarter.

Harper, who finished with a season-high 18 points and six assists in 25 minutes, had eight points (on three-of-three shooting), three assists and three rebounds in the third quarter.

“I want wanted to be aggressive--just go out and try to create some things,” Harper said. “I felt comfortable tonight stepping up and taking some shots, but scoring 18 points isn’t going to be my role most nights.”

Overall, the Lakers made 42 of 76 field-goal attempts (a season-high 55.3%).

Shaquille O’Neal, meanwhile, had his typical terrorizing game against the Spurs, getting a game-high 28 points, 10 rebounds and one knockdown against Duncan with a bullet pass to the face to save a possession in the second quarter.

Duncan collapsed to the floor after being used as a backboard, woozily got to his feet about a minute later and continued playing, but the British and Las Vegas judges scored it a 10-8 round.

Robinson was woozy for another reason: He duplicated his insubstantial 11-point performance of earlier this month against O’Neal, making only three of seven shots, and had only five rebounds.

Fisher wasn’t left out of the party, either, coming back from the bench in the fourth quarter to keep the momentum, and making two three-pointers for emphasis.

“It’s very encouraging,” Fisher said of the Lakers’ 61-point second half output. “We did feel like we were struggling in the first quarter. But it is encouraging to see that we can do this against a very good basketball team, that we’re capable of finishing up strong.”

By the end of the fourth, the Lakers had their first double-digit lead, and Rodman was peeking behind an orange curtain and eliciting chants from the crowd.

Without Knight (sprained ankle) and Horry (irregular heartbeat), the Lakers needed major defensive performances from Corie Blount (who got the start at power forward), Elden Campbell and Sean Rooks.

“I tell you, I give a lot of credit to the three power forwards who were sort of left behind,” Harris said. “Robert Horry and Travis Knight couldn’t play, so they had to go up against Tim Duncan, which all know is no easy task.

“And I thought they did a great job for us.”

The Laker offense was a bit stalled early, with O’Neal getting swarmed inside and nobody looking confident from the outside. Harper was the main offensive threat, scoring 10 points in the half.

Then, the Laker defense sprung holes in the second quarter against the 25th-ranked offense in the NBA. Mario Elie’s buzzer-beating layup gave San Antonio its 50-45 halftime lead.

“I think wins build confidence, and we’re certainly more confident after tonight,” Harper said. “But it doesn’t stop here. If we exhale in Seattle [Sunday], we’re in trouble.”

RODMAN: Now he says he’ll decide between Lakers and Heat. Page 7

ROUNDUP: Bulls lose sixth in a row for worst start of the ‘90s. Page 6