Going Gets Rougher for Lakers

HOUSTON â€”  Hearing, that’s not one of their problems. The Lakers know exactly what people are saying, whispers that travel thousands of miles.

OK, so it’s not only whispers.

“We’re going to pass them,� Charles Barkley said.

Get in line. The Utah Jazz and Seattle SuperSonics have overtaken the Lakers in the Western Conference standings in the last week, and Tuesday night the Houston Rockets closed to 1 1/2 games with a 100-96 victory before 16,285 at the Summit, a win that included 26 points and 17 rebounds from Barkley but a season-ending knee injury to backup point guard Brent Price.

The Lakers have lost four of their last five games, comforted only in that they went from rout to respectability, a 20-point deficit early in the third quarter to a 94-90 game with 1:52 left before falling short. First Sunday at the Forum against the Knicks and now this, two consecutive games in which lost causes became only tough losses. At least the moral victories continue to roll in.

That they have become the gutty little Lakers, though, is of no consolation to a team that planned to hold the fort after Shaquille O’Neal and Robert Horry were injured, but instead sees nothing but forces mounting against them.

Meanwhile, other teams--and other fans--dance at the foot of their hospital bed.

“I’m sure they are,� said Byron Scott, who scored 11 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter. “I’m sure the teams we’re about to play are looking forward to playing us.�

Added Derek Fisher, another key to the comeback as he played the final 14 minutes in place of Nick Van Exel at point guard: “I don’t know if anybody has come face to face with any of us and is saying, ‘You guys are really starting to struggle.’ But you can definitely understand why people would be saying that.�

“We definitely feel it. But a lot of people back home in L.A. have still been great with their support. They continue to fill the seats.�

That fans who have been known to pull a hamstring because they jump on or off a bandwagon so fast have mostly stayed in their corner (Understanding? Love for an underdog? Tickets already paid for?) has been as apparent as the perception that everyone else around the NBA is giving the 10-count. It became most obvious Monday night, when Coach Del Harris did his weekly talk show, the one where he usually gets railed for having no set rotation or questions on why Kobe Bryant doesn’t play more.

“It was more negative back when we were in first place,� Harris said. “I even thanked the callers and congratulated them.�

Which was pretty much the same thing he was doing about 24 hours and 1,500 miles later in the hallway outside the Laker locker room, praising the effort by his team and noting the contributions of Scott, Fisher and Sean Rooks off the bench, without whom a close game would not have been possible. It came as the Lakers shot 44.4% in the fourth quarter, but still got within striking distance by not allowing the Rockets a single offensive rebound, by making 14 of 15 free throws, and with Hakeem Olajuwon getting only two baskets in the final five minutes.

Only one of those field goals was at the expense of Rooks, who spent most of that time on Olajuwon, with regular double-team help. It became the latest part to the much-needed emotional lift that has spanned about three games for the Lakers’ reserve center. Against the Rockets, he made four of six shots for a season-high 10 points and added five rebounds and the defense in 21 minutes.

“We lost, so I’m not really thinking about my performance,� Rooks said after his best one since signing as a free agent last summer. “But I’m pleased with what I did with the minutes and just hope to continue that on a consistent basis.�