[0] LAKERS LOSE FACEOFF; BIZARRE FINISH PUTS SPURS AHEAD 2-0; SHAQ HELD IN CHECK : SAN ANTONIO 79, LAKERS 76.

Byline: Howard Beck Daily News Staff Writer

New night, new plan.

And how about this bit of unorthodox Lakers strategy: Forget Shaq.

Shaquille O'Neal, swarmed into submission in Game 1, struggled again Wednesday, but the Lakers found other means for beating the San Antonio Spurs. The recipe was a little Rick Fox defense, a little Glen Rice and a whole lot of Kobe Bryant.

It worked just well enough to win. And fell just short enough to lose.

The Lakers were within one inbounds play of a victory, but a bounced ball off Derek Fisher's head and a Tim Duncan turnaround jumper in the waning seconds sent the Lakers to a 79-76 loss at the Alamodome.

Down 0-2 in the best-of-seven series, the Lakers will try to recover in the comfort of Los Angeles. Games 3 and 4 are at the Forum this weekend.

``We beat ourselves. A lot of mistakes at the end,'' O'Neal said after scoring a postseason-low 16 points.

But with a game-high 28 points from Bryant, 16 points from Rice and stellar defense of Duncan by Fox, the Lakers were within seconds of stealing a victory and negating the homecourt advantage.

The Spurs led by two when Bryant hit a 3-pointer to give the Lakers a 76-75 lead with 34.2 seconds left. When Sean Elliott airballed a 3-pointer at the other end, the Lakers appeared on the verge of an upset. Then came the miscues, both strange and unlikely:

Bryant, a 91-percent foul shooter in this postseason, missed two free throws with 18.9 seconds left.

With a foul to give, the Lakers failed to hit Duncan, who hit a turnaround 9-footer for a 77-76 Spurs lead.

And then, the most bizarre play of all. Bryant, with 8.4 seconds left, inbounded the ball to Fisher in the frontcourt. But the hard pass sailed through Fisher's hands, off his face and into the hands of the Spurs' Avery Johnson.

Sean Elliott hit two free throws to make it a three-point game, and Bryant missed a desperation 30-foot shot at the buzzer.

``Basically, the play just broke down,'' Bryant said of the inbounds pass, which was not intended to go to Fisher initially and was supposed to lead to a play for Bryant. Fisher, looking a little dazed, wasn't sure what happened.

``I popped up to catch it. I don't know if he (Johnson) hit my arm or I just took my eye off the ball. The ball bounced off my face,'' he said. ``I take full responsibility for that.''

O'Neal started the fourth quarter on the bench as the Lakers opened with a 10-2 run and took their biggest lead of the night, 69-63. But the Spurs answered quickly, scoring eight straight points, capped by a Robinson jam.

After making just one field goal in the first half, O'Neal scored 10 points in the third quarter, but the Lakers never led by more than a point and headed into the fourth down 61-59.

In foul trouble and generally denied access to the paint, O'Neal scored a hard-to-believe two points in the first half, while the Spurs took as much as a 14-point lead. But the Lakers, behind 15 points from Bryant and 12 from Rice, retook the lead late in the second quarter before settling for a 44-41 halftime deficit.

Out of a stroke of strategic genius or sheer desperation, the Lakers climbed back with an unconventional lineup. Fox started the second half at small forward, then shifted to power forward, replacing Robert Horry, in a lineup with O'Neal, Rice, Bryant and Fisher. That left the 6-foot-7 Fox guarding the 7-foot Duncan. Somehow, it worked.

Trailing by 12 points early in the second quarter, that unit put together a 15-2 run behind five points from Rice and four straight from Bryant to take go ahead 35-34 - the Lakers' first lead of the game. That stretch offered glimpses of the Lakers at their defensive best. O'Neal blocking Duncan. Fisher pickpocketing Will Perdue. A steal by Fox. And just one field goal by Duncan in the quarter.

Rice's second 3-pointer in three minutes put the Lakers up 38-36. But Malik Rose scored a quick six points and the Spurs outscored the Lakers 8-3 to close out the half.

The game opened much the way Game 1 closed - Duncan dominating and O'Neal faltering badly. O'Neal missed his first three shots and finished with two points and two fouls, while Duncan scored 10 points to lead the Spurs to a 26-16 lead heading into the second quarter.

The Lakers' first four possessions ended in turnovers and they hit just 6 of 17 field-goal attempts in the first quarter.

SCHEDULE

Second Round

Spurs lead series 2-0

Game 1: Spurs 87, Lakers 81

Game 2: Spurs 79, Lakers 76

Game 3: Saturday at Lakers, 2:30 p.m., Ch. 4

Game 4: Sunday at Lakers, 2:30 p.m., Ch. 4

Game 5: Tuesday at Spurs, TBA (x)

Game 6: May 27 at Lakers, TBA (x)

Game 7: May 29 at Spurs, TBA (x)

(x) if necessary

GAME 2: A CLOSER LOOK

RATING THE LAKERS

OFFENSE: Fair

Slightly improved from Game 1, though still misfiring. The Lakers shot 42 percent and committed 19 turnovers, five in the fourth quarter. Their assist total of 11 showed the offense is still stagnating under the Spurs' constant pressure.

DEFENSE: Fair

Rick Fox played most of the game against Tim Duncan and helped hold him to 8-of-19 shooting, as the Lakers held the Spurs to 43.5 percent and forced 17 turnovers. But no one fouled Duncan on his winning basket with a foul to give.

BENCH PLAY: Fair

Much-improved from Game 1, still insufficient. Fox's defense was key, and he scored six points and set up several baskets with his passing. But the bench (10 points total) was outscored by Malik Rose alone (13 points).

HERO

Tim Duncan

Again. For the second straight game, Duncan delivered. He was held to 21 points and missed 11 of 19 shots, but with the Spurs down a point, and 8.9 seconds left, he hit a 9-foot turnaround jumper to win the game.

GOAT

Kobe Bryant

Though he was within seconds of being hero of the game. Bryant scored 28 points, but missed two free throws with 18.9 seconds left, letting the Spurs retake the lead. On the next possession, Bryant's inbounds pass bounced off Derek Fisher's face for a game-clinching turnover.

GOING AGAINST HISTORY

Since moving to Los Angeles, the Lakers are 1-10 in best-of-seven playoff series after losing the first two games.

Year Opp. W/L Result

1965 Boston L 4-1

1969 San Francisco W 4-2

1971 Milwaukee L 4-1

1973 N.Y. Knicks L 4-1

1974 Milwaukee L 4-1

1977 Portland L 4-0

1979 Seattle L 4-1

1983 Philadelphia L 4-0

1989 Detroit L 4-0

1995 San Antonio L 4-2

1997 Utah L 4-1

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos, 2 Boxes

PHOTO (1--Color) The Lakers' Shaquille O'Neal grabs a rebound here, but he was not a big supplier of points.

(2) L.A.'s Kobe Bryant gets rebound despite being sandwiched in the first quarter.

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

BOX: (1) GAME 2: A CLOSER LOOK (see text)

(2) GOING AGAINST HISTORY (see text)