LAKE SHOW RETURNS; NO MICHAEL, NO KOBE NO PROBLEM FOR JACKSON : LAKERS 91, UTAH 84.

Byline: Howard Beck Staff Writer

Like the frozen moment that defined his last official NBA game, Phil Jackson's coaching career was locked in freeze-frame until tipoff here Tuesday night, and when the shutter unclicked, it was clear just how much the scenery around him had changed.

Where he left on Michael Jordan's awe-inspiring, championship-clinching jumpshot, Jackson returned on a botched pass from Glen Rice to Shaquille O'Neal - the opening sequence of the Lakers' season opener against the Utah Jazz. Same court, same opponent, all new challenges for Jackson, not the least of which is winning without Jordan. Or even his presumed heir, Kobe Bryant.

Without Bryant, without a legitimate starting power forward, the Jackson-era Lakers stumbled out of the gate but stayed step-for-step with their old nemesis and pulled out a dramatic 91-84 victory before 19,911 at the Delta Center.

The Lakers had a six-point lead with two minutes to go, but the Jazz turned to their old standbys to cut the lead. Karl Malone and John Stockton scored in succession to cut the gap to 84-82 with a minute left.

Derek Fisher hit a 3-pointer from the right corner to make it 87-82, but it was up to O'Neal to try to seal it. After Stockton's jumper made it 87-84, O'Neal went to the line for a pair foul shots. He clanked both, and Greg Ostertag recovered the rebound for Utah with 19 seconds left.

But the Jazz's last chance for the win evaporated when Pete Chilcutt missed a wide-open 3-pointer, and Ron Harper gathered the rebound with 10.4 seconds left to seal the win.

In the weeks leading up to his Lakers debut, Jackson warned repeatedly that expectations had to be low at the outset. No one masters the triangle offense overnight, and the Lakers' roster is in a state of flux, to say the least.

But O'Neal wasn't accepting the presumption his team would meander to a .500 record in November.

``I haven't really thought about it,'' he said before tipoff. ``The 15 games on the schedule I'm looking at, we should come out on a positive note. We've just got take it one game at a time, one opponent at a time. . . .There's still a couple of those teams there that no matter how we play them, we still should beat them, period.

``But we've got a couple of good veteran teams (on the schedule); against teams like that, we just have to do everything right,'' he said. ``If we do everything right, then I like our chances.''

Actually, O'Neal overestimated. The Lakers did plenty wrong Tuesday but still managed to hold a lead over their the Jazz for most of the game.

That became possible with a resurgent Rice and Rick Fox, a surprisingly productive John Salley and a surprisingly unproductive Karl Malone. The NBA's MVP, hampered by a sore back most of the exhibition season, started slowly and was limited in the first half. A third-quarter collision with A.C. Green and O'Neal debilitated Malone further, and through three quarters, he had posted just 10 points on 2-of-7 shooting.

The Lakers built a 10-point lead in the third quarter but entered the fourth holding a tenuous 63-59 edge. Three minutes later, John Stockton's off-balance jumper gave the Jazz a 67-66 lead, their first lead since early in the first quarter.

Rice and Fox, both ineffective through most of the exhibition season, rediscovered their jumpshots just in time. Fox scored seven points in a productive first half, and Rice finished with 28 points.

Early on, it looked like the Lakers would have trouble. Already woefully undermanned in the frontcourt, they witnessed the one thing that would make them cringe most: O'Neal in early foul trouble. He picked up his second and third fouls in rapid succession with a minute left in the first quarter - bowling over Greg Ostertag on offense, then mugging Malone at the other end.

O'Neal checked out at that point with a game-high 13 points and six rebounds, and Salley began what wo`uld be a long night of relief duty. He played seven minutes in the first half and contributed four points to the Lakers' 43-36 halftime lead.

OPENING NIGHTS

Here's a look at how the Lakers have done in their season openers during the '90s:

Season Result

1999 Lakers 99, Houston 91

1997-98 Lakers 104, Utah 87

1996-97 Lakers 96, Phoenix 82

1995-96 Lakers 98, Denver 96

1994-95 Lakers 115, Detroit 98

1993-94 Lakers 116, Phoenix 108

1992-93 Lakers 114, Clippers 112 OT

1991-92 Houston 126, Lakers 121 2OT

1990-91 San Antonio 110, Lakers 99

CAPTION(S):

3 photos, 2 boxes

PHOTO (1 -- color) Shaquille O'Neal (34) drives on Greg Ostertag in the first quarter of Tuesday night's opener.

Allen Weed/Associated Press

(2 -- color) New Lakers coach Phil Jackson couldn't have envisioned a better start as the Lakers' new coach: a victory over the Jazz in Utah.

Associated Press

(3) Karl Malone drives past Shaquille O'Neal.

Allen Weed/Associated Press

BOX: (1) Opening nights (see text)

(2) Game recap