DRIVING ON RESERVE LAKERS ROLE PLAYERS TAKE CHARGE IN WIN LAKERS 108, DALLAS 99.

Byline: Howard Beck Staff Writer

The Lakers don't deal in wins and losses anymore so much as in messages and warnings, and the stern reminder they delivered Tuesday night at Staples Center was not subtle, nor delicate, and it might just have reduced a half-dozen rivals to tears.

That supporting cast? The guys who dance around Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant and happily thank them for their rings every November? The ones accused of being asleep, disinterested, just too old or just too young?

They are awake, interested and scoring at will. The Dallas Mavericks chose to stuff O'Neal and Bryant and paid dearly when Devean George, Rick Fox, Derek Fisher and Robert Horry combined for 70 points in an unconventional 108-99 victory.

Don't ask for explanations, because none will suffice, except maybe the month is April and the playoffs are near and the Mavericks have been particularly disrespectful. And the Lakers won't forgive Nick Van Exel for recently declaring his old team would be out in the first round.

``A lot of people have been yapping lately. It's rather early to be talking,'' Fox said.

``It's everybody's wish and desire that this (streak of championships) comes to an end,'' he said. ``And so they talk and they convince themselves that that's the case, when nothing has been played, nothing has been actually reached in terms of a playoff atmosphere. So it's all been premature. And we can't prevent people from having an opinion, but everybody's opinions are sometimes quite laughable.''

So the Lakers laughed back, like this: Fox, scoring a bunch early and finishing with 16 points. Robert Horry, celebrating his return to the starting lineup with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Derek Fisher scoring 16. And when the Mavericks tried to mount a late rally, Devean George kept them at bay, scoring 11 of his team-high 21 points in the fourth quarter.

The low-budget supporting cast - the one Dallas owner Mark Cuban once derided as ``the merry minimums,'' the one O'Neal trashed in December as the ``guys who ain't doing (bleep),'' the ones Bryant ripped for a lack of passion after a being routed by the Mavericks in November - played its best collective game this season. Maybe ever.

O'Neal and Bryant, double-teamed and zoned to the point of invisibility, scored 14 points each, good enough for fifth highest on the team.

``Yeah, it's unheard of,'' Horry said with a chuckle. ``We can help every once in awhile. Don't look into it too much. It's just one of those nights.''

It had been 15 months since a Laker not named Shaq or Kobe had led the Lakers in scoring (Fisher, Jan. 12, 2002, at Chicago). It could be awhile before the folks at the Elias Sports Bureau compute when Bryant and O'Neal were outscored by four of their teammates in a game.

``They played incredible tonight,'' Bryant said. ``And I'm really, really happy about this win. Personally, for me this is more enjoyable than it was playing the Washington Wizards and scoring 42 points in a half. Shaquille and I had a tough game tonight. But yet we still beat Dallas handily.''

The Lakers won their fifth in a row, extended their home winning streak to 13 games and closed within one game of fifth-seeded Minnesota (48-30). They remain 1 1/2 games behind Portland, which routed Houston earlier Tuesday.

The postseason omens are truly frightening for the Mavericks, who lost to the Lakers in L.A. for the 25th consecutive time, a streak dating back to December 1990.

``It has to be tough on them,'' Bryant said.

The loss dropped Dallas into a first-place tie with the San Antonio Spurs, and the Mavericks are on the verge of falling to No. 3, where they could be paired against the Lakers in the first round.

``We feel like we can beat anybody, it doesn't matter,'' Van Exel said. ``If we don't feel that, we're not going to beat anybody.''

Dirk Nowitzki and Raef LaFrentz scored 26 points each for the Mavericks, but Steve Nash struggled (5 for 17) and Dallas' big men were abused by O'Neal, who declared, ``They all stink.''

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, 3 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- color) Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki (41) gets the best of Samaki Walker here, but it was the Lakers' night Tuesday.

(2) Shaquille O'Neal leaves no doubt about who the ball belongs to, but it was the Lakers' reserves who took control of the game.

Evan Yee/Staff Photographer

Box:

(1) STORY LINES

(2) WESTERN CONFERENCE STANDINGS

(3) GAME RECAP