[0] THE NET EFFECT: LAKERS WIN; SHAQ ALLOWED TO REST ONLY AFTER VICTORY SECURED : LAKERS 103, NEW JERSEY 80.

Byline: Howard Beck Staff Writer

If Shaquille O'Neal, the Lakers' 40-minute man, needed a rest, he met the right opponent to give him one Friday night.

O'Neal, the new poster boy for the L.A. Marathon with his wire-to-wire play, finally rested for most of a fourth quarter, as his Lakers posted an easy rout of the New Jersey Nets, 103-80, at Staples Center.

O'Neal still hit the 40 mark for the sixth straight game, playing 41 minutes straight. But he checked out with seven minutes left in the game, his earliest exit in quite awhile, leaving with 30 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists and four blocked shots.

Not that he had to exert much energy to get any of that against a Nets team that could only throw ancient Michael Cage and Stiff Hall-of-Famer Jim McIlvaine at him. Somehow, 7-7 Gheorge Muresan escaped punishment and stayed on the bench.

The outcome was never in doubt, but it took until the third quarter for the Lakers to put the Nets away. And even then, they had to withstand an 11-point quarter from Johnny Newman.

The Lakers opened the second half with a 10-2 run, capped by a pair of fast-break buckets from Ron Harper, to make it a 17-point game, 57-40.

But before you could say, ``Hello, Newman,'' he had scored seven straight points. That was enough to wake up the Lakers defense, and they never let the Nets get within single digits, taking a 73-59 lead into the fourth.

Among the Lakers' non-Shaq highlights, they finally got a double-digit scoring night from a bench player - Rick Fox, with 12 points. Harper added 17 points for the Lakers, who improved to 10-4.

At one time, the Nets (2-11) looked like a team on the rise, boasting the talented young tandem of Keith Van Horn and Stephon Marbury. But it's who the Nets are missing that is most glaring. Center Jayson Williams and guard Kendall Gill are on the injured list, and Kerry Kittles is active but too hurt to play.

That left 37-year-old Michael Cage starting at center and journeyman Lucious Harris, of Cleveland High and Cal State Long Beach, starting at off guard.

The versatile 6-10 Van Horn started at small forward, an apparent mismatch for Glen Rice, but Jackson decided against a lineup change.

``I was going to make a change,'' Jackson said. ``I thought maybe Robert (Horry) could get out there and guard Van Horn, but . . . A.C. has played so well for us, we just need his defense.

``Their best lineup is probably a (smaller) lineup that does include speed, and I don't think Van Horn playing the `3' (small forward) is going to give them that speed,'' Jackson said before tipoff. ``I think he'll do that, get a matchup with Glen Rice, perhaps get him on the post, get him free a little bit, and then he'll go back to the speed lineup, which is putting Van Horn at the `4' (power forward) - that's the lineup we have to be prepared for.''

No lineup did much good for the Nets, who shot just 33.3 percent in the first half as the Lakers took a 47-38 lead. Van Horn led New Jersey with nine points but was 3 for 10 from the field. Marbury also made just 3 of 10 for eight points.

That wasn't nearly enough to keep pace with the Lakers, who got 19 points, 10 rebounds and five assists from O'Neal in the half.

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PHOTO (color) New Jersey's Stephon Marbury tries to duck under the Lakers' Shaquille O'Neal during the first quarter.

Chris Pizzello/Associated Press

CHART: Game recap