[0] GONERS; JAZZ ENDS LAKERS' SEASON IN OT WIN.

Byline: Jon Wilner Daily News Staff Writer

As Lakers coach Del Harris searched for a sign that struggling forward Elden Campbell would emerge from his slump, someone told Harris that on ticket stubs and press passes this was, in fact, Game E - the fifth home game of the playoffs for Utah.

``That's what I'm looking for,'' Harris said.

Three hours later, it was clear the E did not stand for Elden - he scored six points - but for elimination.

Behind 32 points and 20 rebounds from Karl Malone, Utah sent the Lakers home for the summer with a 98-93 overtime victory Monday night, before 19,911 at the Delta Center, that clinched the Western Conference semifinal series four games to one.

The Lakers played the last 1:46 of regulation and all of overtime without Shaquille O'Neal, who fouled out with 23 points, 13 rebounds and five assists.

``This is very difficult,'' O'Neal said. ``There's an old saying, `Before you succeed you must learn how to fail.'

``I just hope I don't fail too many more times. This is my fifth time failing and I'm getting tired of going home early.''

John Stockton's layup with 35.1 seconds left tied the score at 89. Overtime arrived when Kobe Bryant missed a 14-footer at the buzzer.

With the Lakers trailing 96-93 and 35 second left in overtime, Bryant air-balled a 3-point attempt. Jeff Hornacek could not convert for the Jazz, and the Lakers' season ended on another 3-point air ball by Bryant, this with four seconds left. No one heard Harris screaming for a timeout.

``I ran some good plays and he got some good looks,'' said point guard Nick Van Exel, who led the Lakers with 26 points. ``But we just didn't make the shots.''

The statistics were as close as the game. The Lakers shot 38.6 percent, the Jazz 44.4. Each team had 43 rebounds. The Lakers made 31 free throws, the Jazz 30.

The difference was a 1 of 13 performance by Campbell, Malone's brilliance, Greg Ostertag's nine blocked shots and Stockton, who had 24 points and 10 assists.

``It wasn't so much our inexperience but the Jazz's experience,'' Harris said. ``Our guys played about as well as they could play shooting 38 percent.''

The Lakers were without veteran guard Byron Scott, whose sprained right (shooting) wrist was too painful to play. Bryant replaced Scott in the rotation.

The Lakers' pregame locker room gave no indication of the developments to come. O'Neal, wearing only a T-shirt, did a quick dance in front of his locker. Getting comfortable on the training table, Shaq joked with Scott and fielded a call on his cellular phone.

Campbell sat quietly in a far corner reading VIBE magazine. (He would then play quietly.) Jerome Kersey camped in front of the TV and watched the New York-Miami game, and Nick Van Exel jammed to the beat of his headphones. Nothing unusual.

``They didn't seem overly loose or overly tight - more matter of fact,'' Harris said.

The opening minutes gave Harris reason to fret. O'Neal and Campbell committed fouls on Utah's first two possessions, and the Jazz grabbed momentum midway through the quarter, courtesy of a brief Lakers meltdown.

It began, not surprisingly, with Van Exel misbehaving. No arguments this time, just a technical for taunting Stockton. Then Stockton burned Van Exel for a layup. Then Ostertag blocked an O'Neal dunk, Malone jammed on the fast break, O'Neal committed his second foul, Van Exel threw an errant alley-oop and Malone hit a turnaround for a 15-10 lead.

Van Exel kept Utah within range. He sliced through the defense for a layup, hit four free throws, a jumper and a 3-pointer - all in the final five minutes of the quarter.

O'Neal scored 12 of the Lakers' 20 points in the second quarter and avoided committing his third foul. Each basket was a layup or dunk, however, as Ostertag's no-frills defense bothered O'Neal on all shots outside three feet.

Stockton was the prime mover of the second quarter, with six points and five assists. The last was the prettiest: With time expiring he dashed through a Lakers double team, dribbled into the lane then whipped a pass to sharpshooter Bryon Russell in the right corner. Russell drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer, and Utah's halftime lead was 53-45.

Jeff Hornacek gave the Jazz a 60-51 lead with 9:16 left in the third quarter on a running one-hander. Thirty seconds later, O'Neal hit Malone with a hard, high foul that the officials called flagrant. Malone and O'Neal, whose rivalry has turned friendly in recent years, exchanged angry words and Malone was assessed a technical. A few feet away, Robert Horry hit Hornacek with a forearm, for which Horry was ejected.

The incident rattled the Jazz, which made one basket the rest of the quarter, and rejuvenated the Lakers, who countered with 10 points and trailed 66-61 entering the fourth quarter.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos, 2 Boxes

Photo: (1--Color) Utah's Greg Ostertag rejects a shot by Shaquille O'Neal, who fouled out in the fourth quarter.

(2) Utah's Jeff Hornacek watches as the Lakers' Eddie Jones gets around him on a drive to the basket in the first quarter.

Associated Press

Box: (1) LAKERS vs. UTAH (See Text)

(2) LAKERS BOX