Lakers Rolling to Finish

By SCOTT HOWARD-COOPER

April 13, 1996 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

The Lakers tried again Friday night to hit the delete key and make all the subplots go away, or at least fade into the background, to a place where the standings are king. Maybe even to where starting point guards don’t go slam-dancing with referees.

Their reminder is that problems also come to those who play the Lakers. The Golden State Warriors provided the latest evidence, having kept pace for about three quarters before Anthony Peeler starred in another fourth quarter, one that this time led to a 94-81 victory before a crowd of 17,505 at the Forum.

The Lakers won for the eighth time in their last 11 outings, their way of making sure people don’t forget those who haven’t gone astray.

“It’s old news, it’s history,” Coach Del Harris said of Nick Van Exel’s suspension. “Of course until NBC shows up Sunday.”

Added Vlade Divac, who had 26 points and 10 rebounds, both game highs: “People ask me about it. They don’t ask who we are playing next or about the playoffs. They ask you, ‘What happened to Nick?’ But that’s part of this team.”

So, recently, are victories propelled by clutch performances down the stretch. Friday, it was 68-68 heading into the fourth quarter, the Lakers having pulled even thanks to 57.1% shooting in the third while Divac went for 13 points and six rebounds. Then, after erasing a 10-point deficit, they made sure the effort wouldn’t be wasted.

The Warriors--still 1 1/2 games behind Sacramento for the eighth and final playoff spot with four to play--managed to hang on as late as the seven-minute mark, then got shown the door. Peeler was the guy holding it open.

There was nothing considerate about his actions, though. First, he grabbed Elden Campbell’s miss and put it in for an 87-79 lead with 3:36 remaining. Then, he picked up the loose ball at the other end after Eddie Jones knocked away Bimbo Coles’ pass and finished the fast-break with a driving slam dunk, prompting a Golden State timeout.

Finally, the trademark of late: the three-point shot. This one, with 2:26 left, iced the game at 92-79 and gave Peeler 12 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter. It also means that he has broken double digits in the final period in five of the last nine games, going 13 for 18 from behind the arc in those five.

“A.P. continues to do tremendous fourth-quarter heroics,” Harris said. “It’s ironic--for a coach who doesn’t know who to play in the fourth quarter, we just won the 30th of the last 34 fourth quarter.”

The sarcastic coach--about the lineups, not Peeler--went heavily with Magic Johnson down the stretch this time, leaving starter Cedric Ceballos on the bench for the entire period. Johnson responded with four of his nine assists in 11 minutes.

Earlier in the day, the Lakers learned they would not be allowed to activate Fred Roberts from the injured list to take Nick Van Exel’s place on the roster as planned, having gone so far as to inform Roberts of the impending transaction. Only then did they discover that league rules forbid teams from replacing a player on the suspended list.

So the Lakers will have to finish the regular season--five more games--with 11 players, which shouldn’t be a problem. Roberts may get his chance during the playoffs, if the Lakers decide to activate him and leave Pig Miller off the postseason roster.

Laker Notes

Technically, the Lakers are without a team captain, what with Cedric Ceballos having been stripped of the title by teammates after his disappearance and Nick Van Exel prohibited against watching games from anywhere in the arena. The duties, mostly ceremonial anyway, will be inherited by Magic Johnson, who had already been representing the Lakers at pregame meetings with referees for the last 10 or 12 games. . . . No consideration of past history is given when assignments are made for referees, so Van Exel and the Lakers could see Ron Garretson in the playoffs.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Magic Marker

Tracking Magic Johnson’s comeback

FRIDAY’S GAME

*--*

Min. FG FT Pts. Reb. Ast. 26 4-7(.571) 2-2(.1000) 10 2 9

*--*

SEASON AVERAGES

*--*

Min. FG% FT% Pts. Reb. Ast. 30.6 .470 .869 15.1 6.0 6.9

*--*

CAREER AVERAGES