CALL HIM MR. CLUTCH; BRYANT TAKES OVER TO SEAL LAKERS WIN : LAKERS 103, DENVER 98.

Byline: Howard Beck Daily News Staff Writer

Everyone knew this moment would come. The Lakers, fighting for their lives in a tight game, winding down to the last 90 seconds, and the question hovering overhead like a voracious vulture with a bad attitude. . . . OK, so who takes the crucial shot?

Er, Nick Van Exel? He was on the floor, all right, but in the wrong uniform, which is why the question had been dogging the Lakers ever since they traded their point guard to Denver last June.

They had no clutch shooter, no go-to guy down the stretch.

But they do. No surprise that his name is Kobe Bryant.

With the Van Exel-led Nuggets threatening a major upset Wednesday night, Bryant took yet another step toward legitimate stardom, scoring nine fourth-quarter points and six in the final 1:35 to secure the Lakers' 103-98 victory at McNichols Sports Arena.

Bryant's pair of whiplash-inducing baseline drives past Bryant Stith - one for a dunk, one for a layup, both turning into 3-point plays - saved the Lakers from an early-season embarrassment and answered that nagging question about who takes the big shot.

``I'll take it,'' Bryant said. ``I have no problem with that. I'll take it every time.''

And oh, did the Lakers need it against the winless Nuggets. Denver kept the game close throughout with better hustle, outrebounding the Lakers 53-34 behind Antonio McDyess and Raef LaFrentz, who combined for 45 points and 31 rebounds.

And when LaFrentz wasn't beating the Lakers to the boards, the rookie, too agile for Shaquille O'Neal to guard on the perimeter, was killing them with his jump shot. It was LaFrentz's 3-pointer that cut the Lakers' lead to 89-88 with 4:44 to go.

Bryant answered with a 3-pointer of his own. When the Nuggets tied the game 92-92, Bryant went for the baseline drive and the jam, plus the foul shot to make it 95-92. And when Denver cut the lead to 96-95 with 27.2 seconds left, Bryant went for the replay, blowing by Stith again and laying it in over LaFrentz, who fouled out on the play and sent Bryant to the line again.

``I wanted to dunk on him,'' Bryant said with a smile.

He settled for another three-point play and a 99-95 lead with 15.7 seconds left. Eddie Jones and Robert Horry put it away with a pair of free throws apiece. Jones and Bryant finished with 21 points each, and Bryant added 10 rebounds for his fourth straight double-double.

Said coach Del Harris, rather wryly, ``I don't think I'll be getting a lot of questions anymore about do we have anybody who can take a shot at the end of a game. I've been asked that about 1,000 times.''

All 1,000 since Van Exel was traded. But Van Exel himself was not in a clutch-shooting mode in his first game against the team he spent five years with. He hit 3 of 19 shots and went 0 for 6 in the fourth quarter, finishing with nine points and 10 assists.

``I was real up (emotionally), I just didn't make shots,'' Van Exel said. ``I was probably up too much.''

He also had to deal with good friend Eddie Jones pickpocketing him for four of his six steals.

``Eddie's still Eddie. He got me a couple times,'' Van Exel said with a laugh. But he was serious when he expressed relief that the first reunion was past him. ``I'm glad it's over with,'' he said. ``Now I can just concentrate.''

Harris credited the retooled Nuggets with a ``gutsy effort'' and said the Lakers were fortunate to escape with a win.

They did not, however, escape unscathed. Just as Travis Knight (flu) and Rick Fox (sore feet) returned to action, the Lakers got a scare when O'Neal pulled his groin in the second quarter, then aggravated it in the third. He also got poked in the right eye, but finished with a game-high 29 points.

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PHOTO (Color) Kobe Bryant outjumps Denver's Danny Fortson during the Lakers' 103-98 victory. Bryant had 21 points and 10 rebounds.

Jack Dempsey/Associated Press