[0] LAKERS WITHSTAND VAN EXEL EXCELLENCE : LAKERS 117, DENVER 104.

Byline: Howard Beck Daily News Staff Writer

Nick Van Exel and Lakers turmoil seem always to go hand-in-hand, even with the feisty point guard playing in Nuggets gear and even though the coach he feuded with has also been removed from the scene.

So it was only natural that Van Exel arrived in Los Angeles with the Lakers still reeling from their abomination against Golden State, wading ankle-deep in self-doubt, and Nick the Quick aiming to stick another pin in their sinking raft.

The Forum not-so-faithful almost seemed to root for it. Van Exel was greeted with warm cheers and a ``We Miss U Nick'' sign, while the Lakers were again doused with a round of boos in a raggedy first quarter.

Nick and turmoil, turmoil and Nick.

But Van Exel couldn't single-handedly continue the Lakers' misery, though he tried his darndest. Just shy of a triple-double, Van Exel scored a career-high 41 points, but the Lakers withstood the onslaught behind Kobe Bryant's 26-point effort in a 117-104 victory.

Van Exel had already embarrassed his ex-mates once this season, leading a Nuggets overtime victory in late February that helped hasten the dismissal of his nemesis, coach Del Harris.

A sequel seemed to be in the works, as Van Exel got loose for 18 points in the first half.

Yes, he admitted, it was ``weird'' to be in the visiting locker room for the first time, but he seemed perfectly comfortable on the court, adding seven assists and five rebounds in the first half.

The always-direct Van Exel was equally comfortable diagnosing the Lakers' illness.

``They have the pieces to win and keep winning. I think a lot of it has to do with individual things,'' he said. ``They need to put individual things aside and just everybody accept their roles. . . . Until they realize that, they're gonna have nights where they struggle.''

And struggle they did in another blase first quarter, falling to a 36-29 deficit. Shaquille O'Neal picked up two fouls in the first five minutes and the Nuggets shot 63.2 percent in the opening period.

But the Lakers rallied behind Glen Rice, who rediscovered his touch in a 20-point, 8-for-12 first half, leading the Lakers to a 62-60 advantage at the intermission. Rice and Bryant both snapped out of recent shooting slumps. Rice finished with 26 points on 9-of-19 shooting, and Bryant hit 8 of 12 shots.

Van Exel, meanwhile, showed no signs of the sore left knee that caused him to sit out most of Sunday night's game against the Clippers. Or was he just resting up for his big return to the Forum?

``Just a little bit,'' he said with a smile.

The Nuggets, winless in 17 road games this season and 24 in a row dating back to last year, weren't necessarily a barometer of the Lakers' progress, but after losing to the Warriors two days earlier, all coach Kurt Rambis wanted was a solid victory.

No one game, however, will turn around the Lakers' fortunes.

``I don't think it happens in one game,'' Rambis said. ``It's a team involvement, it's an evolution that a team has to go through. There's gonna be huge bumps in the road, there's peaks, there's valleys, and once you go through that rough period, then you're looking at some consistency of play from everybody at both ends of the court. The light's not on in one game, and that's it - it just doesn't happen that way.''

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2 Photos

PHOTO (1--Color) Denver Nuggets guard Nick Van Exel, on his old home floor, hit a career-high 41 points.

Kevin Karzin/Associated Press

(2) VAN EXEL

41 Points, 9 Assists, 8 Rebounds in 45 minutes