`WE BACKED DOWN'; LAKERS DO NOTHING RIGHT IN LAST QUARTER VS. SONICS : SEATTLE 106 LAKERS 92.

Byline: Jim McCurdie Long Beach Press-Telegram 

The Lakers flunked their fourth-quarter exam Monday night. But, to their good fortune, they will likely get a chance to take it again.

All those nagging questions about go-to guys, inexperience and poise with the game on the line came to shining light in Game 1 of their NBA Western Conference semifinal series against Seattle. And it was the Sonics who had all the answers.

After seeing a 14-point third quarter lead evaporate into a four-point deficit, the Sonics tightened up their laces, summoned some defensive energy and shut the Lakers down in the fourth quarter, coming away with a 106-92 victory in front of a KeyArena crowd of 17,072.

Seattle guard Gary Payton scored nine of his team-high 25 points in the fourth quarter, but it was the Sonics' swarming defense and the Lakers' inability to solve it that ultimately decided the game.

If the Lakers do indeed have the proverbial go-to guy, it wasn't evident here. Shaquille O'Neal, rushed back into the game with 8:07 to play after sitting out the beginning of the quarter and watching Seattle regain the lead, attempted only two shots in his eight fourth-quarter minutes. With the Sonics' defense throwing a human net around him, no other Laker stepped forward.

Six of the Lakers' 15 turnovers came in the final period. They missed 11 of 16 field-goal tries in the quarter and got to the foul line only four times. And, after going on an 18-3 run in the third quarter to get back into the game, they got outscored 28-13 in the fourth. That's the Lakers' lowest-scoring fourth quarter of the season.

``They just dominated us,'' Lakers coach Del Harris said. ``Thirteen-point quarters won't get you very far.''

At least one Laker said it was a matter of blinking when the time came to stare the Sonics down.

``They were more aggressive,'' said guard Nick Van Exel, who missed five of his seven shots in the final period. ``They were just tougher than us. We needed to respond, and we didn't. We backed down to them.''

O'Neal, who began receiving treatment for a tender right calf late in the first quarter, led the Lakers with 27 points and 11 rebounds, but everything he got came while serving 38 minutes of hard labor in the jail that was the Seattle defense.

``We wanted to keep the ball out of his hands,'' Payton said, ``and make their perimeter guys do a lot of things . . . hope that our rotation would make them penetrate and get a ball up so we could get our hands on it. We did a good job of that. We got the ball out of Shaq's hands, and he didn't hurt us.

``If he touches the ball 30 times, we know he's going to score at least 30, so we can't let that happen. He's a great player, but we'd rather not let him beat us.''

Said Seattle forward Vin Baker, who was held to a rather modest 11 points: ``Shaquille's going to get his numbers. When you take everyone else out of the mix, that's where you get your success (against) the Lakers.''

Not that the Lakers didn't know this was coming.

``We know that as soon as (O'Neal) catches the ball, they're going to be flying at him,'' Van Exel said. ``It's up to the perimeter guys to step up. We're pretty much the guys who are going to have to win games for us in this series.''

If that's the case, this was an ominous beginning. Seattle's starting backcourt of Payton and Hersey Hawkins outscored the Lakers' Eddie Jones and Derek Fisher 45-15. Jones, in the latest in a disturbing series of offensive disappearing acts in road playoff games, finished with nine points on 3 of 10 shooting. Kobe Bryant, a double-digit scorer in the first-round victory over Portland, was basically a non-entity. In 16 minutes, he missed four of five shots and scored four points.

As expected, 3-point shooting was a huge factor. The Sonics shot 52.4 percent (11 of 21) from the 3-point line, the Lakers 35.7 percent (5 of 14). Payton, Hawkins and former Laker Sam Perkins drilled three treys each.

``We just have to play smart,'' O'Neal said. ``We can't be trying to out-shoot these guys on their home court.

``But I'm not discouraged in any way. That's the best (Seattle) can play, I think. We only played well in spurts.''

Seattle coach George Karl took comfort in knowing his team, by winning three of four games against the Lakers during the regular season, had the homecourt advantage in what figures to be a closely contested series.

``If you lose one at home, you've got three games to make it up,'' he said. ``My feeling is that we're good enough to beat them (at the Forum) and they're good enough to beat us here. But is either team good enough to do it twice?''

If they lose Game 2 here Wednesday night, the Lakers will have to find out.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos, Box

Photo: (1--Color) PAYTON

(2--Color) Lakers center Shaquille O'Neal, right, fights Sonics' Jim McIlvaine for position during the first quarter at Seattle.

Barry Sweet/Associated Press

Box: LAKERS vs. SEATTLE