DEFENSE BY SHAQ IS CRUCIAL : LAKERS WAKE UP TO WIN LAKERS 91, MINNESOTA 85.

Byline: Marc Stein Daily News Staff Writer

There were scads of no-shows Sunday at the Forum. Lots they missed as well.

Namely, the chance to see a historic entrance. . . . and a late arrival.

For the first regular-season game of Kobe Bryant's pro career, and just the second of Shaquille O'Neal's life with the Lakers, only 15,407 fans trekked to Inglewood.

Thus, more than 2,000 seats were left empty while Bryant became the youngest player in NBA history, and while the home team - largely absent itself on this night - awakened down the stretch for a 91-85 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

``Hell yeah we were worried,'' said Lakers forward Corie Blount, who backed up O'Neal's monster effort - 35 points, 19 rebounds and three blocks - with some much-needed energy off the bench.

``We were playing bad.''

Actually, they almost played dead for a half. Just 48 hours removed from O'Neal's raucous debut, the Lakers fell behind by 15 points in the second quarter to a Timberwolves team without injured rookie Stephon Marbury.

Worse, the Lakers were down nine with 10:35 to play and Bryant firmly planted on the sideline after playing just six scoreless minutes before the break.

It was looking bleak.

``The thing I learned playing in Chicago, they emphasized momentum all the time,'' Blount said. ``They always say there that momentum changes, and that's what happened tonight.''

Largely responsible for the change, not surprisingly, was O'Neal, who had only nine of his points in the final quarter but helped spark a 20-2 run over a stretch of almost nine minutes by challenging every Minnesota shot.

Blount helped, too, with eight points and five boards in the period to finish with 12 and seven, respectively. Those numbers exceeded the combined contribution of starting forwards Cedric Ceballos (albeit playing with back spasms) and Elden Campbell, as the Lakers went to 2-0 for the first time since 1987-88.

``It was real tough, but we have to learn to get up for every team,'' O'Neal said. ``It was ugly, but it was a win.''

Said Lakers coach Del Harris: ``Shaq really took it to another level defensively. Everyone's going to talk about the 35 points and 19 rebounds, and we're not going to turn them back in, but defensively he set the tone.

``The crowd was flat and the players were flat, but at halftime everyone warmed up when they realized this was going to be a struggle.''

Besides the comeback, those who did show were treated to history, as Bryant supplanted Philadelphia's Stan Brown as the youngest NBAer of all time.

Brown was 18 years and four months old when he debuted in 1947. Bryant, the Philly native, is 18 years, two months and 10 days old.

But not nervous.

``I've been able to adapt pretty well, even though I haven't been able to play much,'' said Bryant, who had to recover from two injuries - a broken wrist and a hip flexor - before playing in his first game.

``So my nerves are pretty much gone by now.''

Soon enough, the record will be gone, too. Portland rookie Jermaine O'Neal, who opened the season on the injured list, is just 18 years and three weeks old. If he heals relatively quickly from a bruised knee, the other O'Neal should become the newest of kids in this league.

``He's a young buck,'' Bryant quipped.

On the whole, though, Bryant's night drew few smiles. In his brief time on court, after replacing Ceballos with 2:58 left in the opening quarter, Bryant managed only one shot, a 3-pointer blocked by Cherokee Parks. The first time he touched the ball, Bryant got called for traveling, one of L.A.'s 15 first-half turnovers.

The game was too tight thereafter for experiments, so Harris stuck with his 20-and-over team for the last two quarters. Bryant will have to wait until Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks for another opportunity to dazzle.

``I should hope so,'' Bryant said when asked if his next outing will be better.

``You can't be losing to a team like Minnesota if you want to accomplish what we want to accomplish.''

SHAQ'S BIG NIGHT

Shaquille O'Neal's dominating numbers from the Lakers' win over Minnesota:

FG FT Reb Blk Pts

14-20 7-13 19 3 35

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos, 2 Charts

Photo: (1--color) Shaquille O'Neal, who had 35 points, blocks a shot by Minnesota's Doug West in the first quarter.

(2) Nick Van Exel passes off under the basket in front of Minnesota's Tom Gugliotta.

Tom Mendoza / Daily News

Chart: (1) SHAQ'S BIG NIGHT (see text)

(2) LAKERS BOX