[0] LAKERS SHOOT FOR MCCLOUD : AFTER LOSS, DEAL IS EXPECTED CLEVELAND 103, LAKERS 84.

Byline: Marc Stein Daily News Staff Writer

Eighty-odd points were insufficient Wednesday night against basketball's stingiest team.

The big score comes today for the Lakers.

Stunted by the toughest defense in the league in Wednesday night's 103-84 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Forum, the short-handed hosts are expected to fortify themselves before this afternoon's 3 p.m. trading deadline by acquiring sharpshooter George McCloud from the New Jersey Nets.

According to various team sources, the Lakers will send little-used center Joe Kleine to the Nets for McCloud, last year's Most Improved Player runner-up and one of nine names involved in Monday's Dallas-New Jersey blockbuster.

``That's what they say,'' co-captain Nick Van Exel said after being scorched for 19 points in the fourth quarter by Terrell Brandon. ``He'll help a lot. He's a pretty good scorer. And we definitely need another scorer on the perimeter.''

The only potential snag, it appears, is Dallas' examination this morning of Khalid Reeves, who surprised Mavericks officials Wednesday night by informing them of a childhood heart murmur.

If Reeves doesn't pass a stress test, the Mavericks can rescind their trade with New Jersey, which would return McCloud to Dallas and leave little time before the deadline for other arrangements.

In the more probable scenario, Reeves will come through fine, the Mavericks-Nets trade will go through officially and then the Lakers will come away with an ideal fill-in at small forward for Robert Horry - whose six-week layoff with a sprained left knee began with this loss, just as Kleine's brief Lakers career was ending.

``It sounds like something's up,'' Kleine said. ``I've gotten a lot of calls today and when you get that many calls, usually something's up. But I'd rather wait until something happens before talking about it.''

The veteran big man, in his 12th season, appeared in just eight games for L.A. after coming over from Phoenix with Horry in the Jan. 10 deal featuring Cedric Ceballos. As a free agent-to-be, Kleine is considerably more appealing to the Nets than Sean Rooks, who has six more years left on a $13.4 million contract.

McCloud's appeal to the Lakers is much less of a mystery. After years of injury, inconsistency and personal tragedy - he lost both parents to suicide within a four-month span in 1991 - the 6-foot-8, 225-pounder established himself as one of the NBA's deadliest marksmen in 1995-96.

In 79 games for Dallas, McCloud averaged 18.9 points to finish second to Washington's Gheorghe Muresan in Most Improved Player voting. He averaged 20.9 points in 63 starts after Jamal Mashburn's knee injury.

Though not as prolific this season - in 41 games, he averaged 13.7 points in 29.3 minutes - McCloud will almost certainly improve the Lakers' perimeter game and lowly free-throw shooting while also allowing Eddie Jones to stay at shooting guard while Horry heals.

``We're going to (protect) Eddie, that's what it amounts to,'' coach Del Harris said in general about the Lakers' strategy. ``It's one thing to play him out of position, but I'm not going to handicap him any more than I have to.''

With Horry and Shaquille O'Neal watching from the bench, the Lakers (37-15) had no choice against the Cavaliers (29-22) and their league-best defense (85.0 points per game).

Harris had to move Jones to small forward, with rookies Kobe Bryant and Travis Knight forced to start as well. What little remained on the bench produced only 11 points.

Now, with McCloud coming, Bryant can return to a reserve role and Jones can shift back to the spot where he became an All-Star.

And even if Horry - a defensive specialist seen as the perfect complement to O'Neal and Elden Campbell - returns for the final month of the regular season, Harris won't mind having one more offensive threat.

He has fretted for months that, in spite of all the Lakers' first-half success, their shooting from the field and from the line would be a big-time liability in the playoffs. That's why, sources say, Harris pushed harder than anyone in the organization to swing a Rooks-led deal for Golden State's Chris Mullin.

Instead, he gets McCloud, who makes more sense. The seven-year veteran is younger (29) and cheaper ($1.1 million) and, even better, is a free agent at season's end just like Kleine.

That fact gives the Lakers the flexibility to let McCloud go if he proves expendable when Horry gets healthy.

Layups: The Lakers survived another injury scare when Knight twisted his left ankle with 2:02 left in the first half after landing on the foot of Cleveland's Danny Ferry. Knight walked off the injury, made two free throws and finished with 10 points and nine rebounds. . . . One game after saying he didn't want to sit on the bench as long as a cast covers his left knee, O'Neal stretched out behind the bench Wednesday night. Asked for his reaction to the firing of Orlando coach Brian Hill, Shaq replied, ``That team ain't none of my business.''

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Photo: (color) Cleveland's Danny Ferry has the close attention of the Lakers' Nick Van Exel at the Forum.

Associated Press