LAKERS' STREAK IS OVER WASHINGTON PULLS OFF A SURPRISING VICTORY WASHINGTON 109, LAKERS 102.

Byline: Howard Beck Staff Writer

WASHINGTON - With a few semantic twists and a Washington-style spin job, the Lakers could say only Michael Jordan stood between them and another historic victory.

But even Dick Morris would have a tough time selling that pitch.

Jordan's team ended the Lakers' 19-game winning streak Thursday night, denying them the chance to tie the second-longest streak in NBA history. But the Bald One watched these events from the comfort of an MCI Center luxury box, while his Washington Wizards did the dirty work, handing the Lakers a stunning 109-102 defeat before 20,674.

It was the Lakers' first loss since Feb. 1, a span of 44 days. In that time, they won almost as many games as the Wizards (21-45) have all season.

But Washington shocked the Lakers (53-12) with an early 21-point advantage, and even the NBA's winningest team found that deficit too much to recover from.

So The Streak died in the most unlikely of places, just shy of equaling Milwaukee's 20-game streak of 1970-71.

``I think it was building, and it had taken a life of its own there for a point,'' said Rick Fox. ``Twenty would have been a magical number in itself, and so losing anytime is disappointing, but to lose a streak that would have given us sole possession of second place all-time is disappointing. It's disappointing.''

Surprising, too. Though Jordan is now president of the Wizards, he's had little impact in suit and tie, and in fact hadn't even attended a game in three weeks.

But the Wizards played an inspired game, shooting 50 percent against the NBA's top defensive team. Mitch Richmond scored 32 points, and at the other end, disrupted Kobe Bryant into a 2-for-10, 7-point effort - easily his worst game this season.

``They did a pretty good job as far as closing down lanes, stuff like that,'' said Bryant, who battled foul trouble as well. ``But I was just trying to get a rhythm, trying to find my rhythm. It was tough. Richmond did a good job. He's very deceiving. He did a good job forcing me down the middle and closing it off, closing of passing lanes, stuff like that.''

Shaquille O'Neal, shaking off right-hamstring problems, started slow but made 15 of 25 shots for a game-high 40 points and 12 rebounds. Glen Rice added 22 points on 9-of-17 shooting and nearly saved the game with a nine-point fourth-quarter burst.

It proved too big a task, though the Lakers briefly tied the game at 85, on a Rice 3-pointer with 7:52 to go. More amazing, they got there on a 15-6 run that came with O'Neal on the bench, with five fouls.

But Richmond answered with a pair of 3s, and the Lakers couldn't climb back.

``Just too far to recover for a basketball club without running out of gas,'' coach Phil Jackson said, ``especially when your two top scorers get into foul trouble in the second half. We made a game out of it, we had a chance and they came back and won it. And more power to them.''

The final blow came in the last minute. The Wizards held a 101-98 lead after O'Neal hit two free throws with 49.1 second left. But when Richmond missed a jumper at the other end, Juwan Howard pulled down the rebound to save the possession, and the Lakers were forced to foul intentionally. Richmond hit six of six free throws in the last 17.4 seconds.

``We just made a lot of silly mistakes, and we beat ourselves,'' O'Neal said. ``They got a win tonight, but they didn't really beat us . . . the streak was a fun ride, we're part of history now. We just have to start all over, get back on track.''

With the New York Knicks and Miami Heat on the schedule in a few days,the general consensus was this loss was preferable.

``It's probably good we got this one out of our system,'' Bryant said. ``It's better that it came against the Wizards than a team like New York or Miami or something like that. Because you don't want to give those guys any confidence.''

END OF THE CHASE

Here's a look at the top winning streaks in NBA history:

No. Team........Year

33..Lakers......1971-72

20* Washington..1948

20..Milwaukee...1971

19..Lakers......2000

*-streak spanned two seasons

CAPTION(S):

photo, box, chart

Photo: (color) Rod Strickland of the Wizards and Kobe Bryant of the Lakers battle for possession of the basketball.

Nick Wass/Associated Press

Box: GAME RECAP

Chart: END OF THE CHASE (see text)