[0] LAKERS OUTSHINE SUNS; MAINTAIN FIRM GRIP ON SECOND PLACE IN PACIFIC DIVISION : LAKERS 99, PHOENIX 93.

Byline: Howard Beck Daily News Staff Writer

There was only one appropriate response for the Lakers after losing a crucial game Monday night: rebound.

Shaquille O'Neal took that mission to heart Wednesday, on several levels. His season-high 22 rebounds, coupled with 33 points, led the Lakers' 99-93 defeat of the Phoenix Suns before a sold-out Forum.

O'Neal rebounded fiercely - grabbing 19 in the first half before a sore knee slowed him - and the Lakers rebounded nicely from their recent loss to the division-leading Seattle SuperSonics.

One race ended with that loss, the Lakers becoming a long shot to catch the Sonics. But another race began, the Lakers desperate to maintain a high seeding and Phoenix clawing at them from just a game and a half back at tipoff.

The Lakers felt a bit better about the security of their second-place standing a couple hours later.

``It's nice to push them back, nice to get them off our butt,'' Eddie Jones said of the Suns. Playoff seeding ``was on our mind,'' he admitted, ``but moreso was just to play well.''

That mission was successful, though far from perfect. The Lakers and Suns were both guilty of sloppy play throughout, but the Suns' transgressions were more serious, particularly their 38.2 percent shooting.

The win pushed the Suns to 2-1/2 games back, with the teams to meet once more in Inglewood next month. The Lakers hold a 2-1 series advantage.

``I don't think the Lakers played up to their potential, and neither did we,'' Suns coach Danny Ainge said. ``We need to have a couple of guys to have special games to beat teams of this caliber.''

Or at least someone to bang bodies with O'Neal a little more. O'Neal, no longer bothered by an abdominal strain but nursing an infected big toe and now a banged-up left knee, looked anything but hurt in the first 24 minutes.

Muscling over the Suns' outsized front court and taking advantage of his own poor shooting with offensive rebounds, O'Neal grabbed 19 rebounds in the first half en route to his ninth career 20-30 game.

``I was just in the right place at the right time. I guess I was very active,'' O'Neal said, claiming he was unaware of his torrid rebounding pace. ``I didn't know nothing. I guess I wasn't looking.''

The last time he had a 19-rebound half? ``High school.''

Only the sore knee, injured Sunday at Vancouver and banged again Wednesday, kept him from duplicating in the second half.

A less-active O'Neal allowed the Suns close the gap in the third, as Phoenix cut the Lakers' 49-42 halftime lead to two points, 75-73, on the strength of 12 points from Antonio McDyess.

The Lakers opened a seemingly comfortable 10-point lead with 5:20 left in the game on Robert Horry's 3-pointer, but the Suns fired back with an 8-0 run on 3-pointers from Rex Chapman and Jason Kidd and a jumper from Cliff Robinson to make it 90-88.

Then O'Neal took over, minus one misstep. His solid free-throw performance (7 for 11) was nearly marred when he missed two big ones with 2:05 left and the Lakers up 92-90.

Redemption came moments later, though, as O'Neal hit a turnaround bank shot, then followed with a 3-point play to put the Lakers up 97-92 with 54.9 seconds remaining.

Nick Van Exel, playing the entire fourth quarter in his third game back from injury, iced the game with a pair of free throws to make it 99-93 with 22.9 seconds left.

Horry, who finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds, said the Lakers aren't looking over their shoulders at Phoenix or up above at Seattle, who they face again Friday.

``You still gotta work on yourselves. It's all about preparing for the playoffs,'' he said. ``You don't want to out and try to do different things to catch a team.

``We can't worry about how far (the Sonics) are ahead of us.''

CAPTION(S):

Photo

PHOTO (Color) Lakers center Shaquille O'Neal slams home a basket over the Suns' Mark Bryant Wednesday at the Forum.

Kevork Djansezian/Associated Press