Horry Will Sit Out First Two Games to Attend Funeral

Forward Robert Horry will sit out games tonight against the Portland Trail Blazers and Wednesday night against the Utah Jazz to attend the funeral of his grandmother in Alabama.

Horry, who might have started at small forward against the forward-heavy Trail Blazers, is expected back in time for Saturday’s game against the Vancouver Grizzlies at Vancouver.

“He’s played well against Portland,� Coach Phil Jackson said. “We’ll miss his effort for us. We’ll have to throw some young kids in there to play Rasheed Wallace or Shawn Kemp, guys that aren’t ready yet to do that.�

Jackson said he has not chosen a starting lineup for tonight, but veteran forward Rick Fox is a decent bet to join Shaquille O’Neal, Horace Grant, Kobe Bryant and Ron Harper.

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After a terrible start to training camp, a three-week period when he appeared tight and unsure of himself, forward Devean George played well enough over the last two exhibition games to get regular playing time.

“That makes me feel good,� he said. “One of my goals was to get into that steady rotation.�

Shortly after Jackson asked him if he was sure he had a guaranteed contract, George rediscovered his confidence. He made 50% of his three-point shots in the exhibition season, if only 34% overall.

“He jokes like that,� George said. “I don’t know if there was some truth to it or not.�

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The Lakers waived guard Cory Hightower and placed forward Slava Medvedenko and guard Mike Penberthy on injured reserve.

According to the Lakers, Medvedenko has tendinitis in his right knee, and Penberthy has a sore right shoulder.

Hightower averaged 2.8 points in five exhibition games. The Lakers told him he needed to get stronger.

Penberthy, a 6-foot-3 guard from The Master’s College, made eight of 20 three-point attempts and showed a pretty good knack for the offense.

“It’s been very stressful,� Penberthy admitted before the moves were announced. “I’ve always been on the bubble.�

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When Portland blew every bit of a 15-point lead, all in the last quarter of the Western Conference finals June 4, Isaiah Rider was watching on television.

Honestly, he said, he wasn’t surprised.

“I could believe it, because when things were going really good, their captains and leaders were all, ‘Hooray, hooray, let’s go,’ � Rider said. “When things were going bad, they were quiet. I saw it right on the TV. When they were losing, they needed somebody to hype them up, and they didn’t get that. If you’re a fan of basketball, you saw the whole momentum change, you saw the body language. I could tell it was going to happen.�

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A.C. Green and John Salley have told the Lakers they will attend Wednesday night’s championship ring and banner ceremony at Staples Center.

In all, more than 100 full-time Laker players and personnel were provided rings, at about $7,500 each, by owner Jerry Buss.

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Not everybody gets a ring.

While Bryant gives O’Neal his semiannual hug, players such as Rider, Grant and Greg Foster will be stand around looking like Charlie Brown on Halloween night.

“There’s going to be another emotion, the realization that there’s a chance,� Rider said. “It’s going to be fun for them. It’s going to make me hungry at the same time.�

TONIGHT

at Portland, 7:30 PST

* TV--Channel 9, TBS.

* Site--The Rose Garden.

* Radio--KLAC (570).

* Records (1999-2000)--Lakers 67-15, Trail Blazers 59-23.

* Record vs. Trail Blazers (1999-2000)--2-2.

* Update--This is a rematch of last season’s Western Conference finals, a series the Lakers won, 4-3. The Trail Blazers added Dale Davis, Shawn Kemp and Will Perdue to a frontcourt already thick with Rasheed Wallace and Arvydas Sabonis. The 7-foot-3 Sabonis is sidelined indefinitely after knee surgery.