[0] GRANT FILLS SOME BIG SHOES SHAQ-LESS LAKERS DON'T MISS A STEP, WIN BY 22 LAKERS 98, VANCOUVER 76.

Byline: Howard Beck Staff Writer

He did it without a mortarboard or a gown, and nobody played that plodding, repetitive tune that accompanies official graduation ceremonies, but Horace Grant earned his own diploma of sorts Friday night.

It was a master of fine arts, with a basketball emphasis, but could best be described as ``Being Shaquille O'Neal.''

Superman was off in Louisiana to receive his bachelor's degree, so it was up to Grant to don the cape, fight the good fight and somehow lead the Lakers out of the darkness cast over them this week.

Superman, he isn't. But Good Enoughman was all the Lakers needed against the Vancouver Grizzlies. Grant provided the inside presence and production, and the Lakers looked surprisingly at ease without O'Neal as they pounded the Vancouver Grizzlies 98-76 at Staples Center.

Grant had 19 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and two blocked shots. He even got to feel the pain of being Shaq - he was clobbered and knocked to the floor twice, once by Grant Long and once by Tony Massenburg.

``It was a Trinidad-Vargas fight,'' Grant said. ``It was a physical game, they're a pretty physical team, they have some big guys in there. We just came out and we did what we had to do.''

And as for the Shaq-like beating in the paint?

``I think the guys hit him a little harder than what they hit me,'' Grant said. ``But it was good to have the middle open like that, and Greg (Foster) did a great job in there and Mark Madsen came in and gave us a big lift.''

Without O'Neal as a safety net, the Lakers needed every available big body and a true team effort on defense. They got it, outrebounding the Grizzlies 58-36 and holding them to 76 points, the least anyone has scored on the Lakers this season.

Rick Fox also finished with a double-double, 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Foster (who started at center) and Madsen picked up seven rebounds each.

Kobe Bryant did the rest, scoring 17 points on 7-of-18 shooting, as the Lakers avoided a three-game losing streak and won for just the second time in the last six games.

If the Grizzlies arrived with notions of exploiting the Shaq-less Lakers, those notions faded quickly. The Lakers led wire to wire, building a 10-point lead by early in the second quarter and extending it to as much as 28 in the second half.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim managed just 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting and the Grizzlies shot 40 percent, though Lakers coach Phil Jackson said it wasn't his team's best defensive effort.

``I thought (the Grizzlies) were very flat tonight,'' Jackson said. ``They weren't shooting like they can. But we did pack it in, we were trying to stop interior play.''

The center-by-committee did the job, even if it cost Grant a few blows to the head. Each time, he spent a couple of long minutes on the floor, but Jackson hardly seemed concerned.

``No,'' he said with a smile, ``Horace has been known to take his breaks when he gets hit hard. I'm used to that.''

Grant had already taken a harsher beating from teammates after a four- game shooting slump, and his 8-for-15 shooting helped ease the pain.

``I can get Ron Harper off my back now,'' Grant said. ``I made a couple jumpshots, so there you go.''

Vancouver's defense focused on Bryant and it showed. He went 3 for 10 in the first half and was benched for six minutes in the second quarter before finding a rhythm in the third.

``(The defense) didn't really bother me,'' Bryant said. ``What bothered me is when you're shooting and the guy smacks your arm, it's tough to make shots. Man, every time I shot the ball, he was smacking my arm, whether it was (Michael) Dickerson or the other guy, (Kevin) Edwards.''

So instead of buckling, the Lakers survived without O'Neal and shook off a little of the gloom from losing four of the previous five.

``You'd like for Shaquille to have been able to participate in this and enjoy in the defensive effort and obviosuly a win,'' Fox said, ``but we're glad to have gotten a win without his presence, knowing how much he means to this team. I thought we did a good job of recognizing that we had to help each other and we had to execute our offense and play well for not having our MVP.''

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) The Lakers' Kobe Bryant loses control of the ball while being harassed by Vancouver's Michael Dickerson.

(2) Rick Fox (17) of the Lakers reaches for a rebound during the game with Vancouver Friday night at Staples Center.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer

Box: Game Recap (see text)