[0] SHAQ SURE HAS SONICS' NUMBER : TWO KEY FREE THROWS CLINCH WIN LAKERS 110, SEATTLE 106.

Byline: Marc Stein Daily News Staff Writer

Count on who to make a size-22 imprint on one of basketball's fiercest rivalries?

Who else but Shaquille O'Neal?

With those unmistakable snow-shoe sneakers, the Lakers' irrepressible big man stepped into his first Seattle showdown with both feet and two free throws, sealing a victory, of all places, at the line.

Barely a week removed from costing the Lakers a home success against Houston in the same spot, O'Neal drained two key attempts from the stripe in the final minute to finish with 32 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists and finish off a 110-106 win over the first-place Sonics.

The triumph, before a Forum sellout of 17,505, extended the hosts' dominance in the series to 10-4 since Del Harris became Lakers coach in 1994.

``I don't think anyone else is even close to that,'' Harris said.

``Is that just circumstances, or do we have something there? I think that's what this year will show. Are we a team that's really able to beat them or just lucky?''

Call the Lakers (13-6) mildly fortunate on this night to hang on, with the Sonics (14-5), coming off a rare loss, refusing to fade.

Even after Nick Van Exel's 12-point, five-assist performance in the third and Byron Scott's 3-pointer at the quarter buzzer, Seattle overturned a 90-84 deficit to start the fourth on Shawn Kemp's jumper with 5:31 to play.

It gave the Sonics a 100-99 edge, but Jim McIlvaine and Kemp (22 points, 14 rebounds) fouled out in the next 80 seconds, clearing the lane for O'Neal.

And, finally, after missing two free throws with 3:53 remaining and then a baseline jumper a minute later, Shaq dropped in a jump hook over Sam Perkins with 1:04 left to make it 107-105.

Then he punished a free-throw miss by Detlef Schrempf (a 77-percenter) by hitting two in a row with 42.3 seconds to go.

Schrempf's missed 3-pointer, three steals down the stretch from Jerome Kersey and a late free throw from Eddie Jones clinched it, pushing the Lakers to 13-6 and 7-2 at the Forum.

``We want to establish home dominance,'' said O'Neal, who got most of his support from Scott's 16 points in 20 minutes after a three-game stretch that saw the veteran go 4 of 14 from the floor.

Central to the year's first Lakers-Sonics matchup were both centers, O'Neal and McIlvaine, each the prize free-agent signing for their respective clubs.

You had O'Neal, the $120 million man, scoring 14 points in the first quarter alone.

And McIlvaine, the recepient of his own monster deal, picking up three fouls in the first 4:04 when stand-in coach Terry Stotts - filling in for the ill George Karl - wasn't informed that McIlvaine drew his second after just 2:57 had elapsed.

A quiet showing from McIlvaine, mind you, wasn't totally unexpected. He came in averaging just over 18 minutes per contest, in spite of the seven-year, $35 million package he received to be the Sonics' shot-blocking presence.

``Who's his agent?'' Shaq quipped. ``He's got a good agent.''

Got a good lesson, too.

Harris, however, insisted that no matter how big O'Neal's imprint, he didn't view the victory as a so-called statement.

``I always downplay everything,'' he said. ``It's a media thing. You make a statement every game, whether you want to or not.''

Layups: The continuing heart problems endured by Houston's Hakeem Olajuwon have O'Neal convinced that his close friend should consider retirement. ``If I was in his position, I would,'' said O'Neal, who had a heart-flutter scare of his own last year with Orlando. ``Health is more important to me. I hope he's all right. I hope it's nothing serious. If that happened to me, I'd probably find something else to do. Last year, when I had my heart flutter, I was more scared than ever. I don't want to see anything bad happen to him. He's my favorite player.'' . . .

Cedric Ceballos continues to woork out on his injured knee - and continues to avoid the media. He hasn't spoken to reporters since suffering the partial tear in his right patella tendon Nov. 13, a setback that was originally expected to sideline him for up to two months. ``Talk to somebody who's playing,'' Ceballos said Tuesday. ``You can talk to me in two weeks.''

LAKERS AT UTAH 

Time: 5 p.m., Delta Center.

TV/Radio: Channel 9, TBS; KLAC-AM (570).

Lakers (13-6) update: Their fifth and toughest back-to-back set so far wraps up tonight in Salt Lake City, with the Lakers mired at 0-4 on the second night. They'll be making their sixth appearance on national television. On the home front, Tuesday night's visit by Seattle marked the third sellout in the past four games and fourth in nine home games overall. Thirty-seven sellouts in 41 home dates is the franchise record.

Jazz (13-2) update: Lakers coach Del Harris calls Utah ``the hottest team in the league,'' and it's no stretch. The Jazz, who won by 16 points at the Forum on Nov. 20, have reeled off 11 consecutive victories, three shy of a franchise record. A key note: Utah's defense is holding the opposition to 41.6 percent shooting from the field.

CAPTION(S):

Photo, 2 Box

Photo: (color) Lakers' Shaquille O'Neal has a clear shot over Seattle's Sam Perkins.

Associated Press

Box: (1) LAKERS AT UTAH (see text)

(2) LAKERS BOX