LAKERS BETTER LATE THAN EVER; L.A. PUMMELS PORTLAND IN ONE OF ITS BEST SHOWINGS OF YEAR : LAKERS 108 PORTLAND 89.

Confetti rained on the Great Western Forum floor Thursday night, celebrating the Lakers' greatest victory since . . .

OK, stop the ticker-tape parades and banner-raising ceremonies. It was, after all, just one win, and not even a playoff game at that. But the confetti was real, albeit an accidental spill from the rafters in the second quarter. Or maybe it was just an omen.

It certainly seemed appropriate. The Lakers reversed their recent trend toward inexplicably uninspired play and pounded the Portland Trail Blazers in a 108-89 rout that ranked with the best all-around performances they've had this season.

With the way the Lakers played the last few weeks - running up a 2-6 record and a pair of three-game losing streaks, routinely dropping games by double digits and surrendering 100-plus points - the commanding victory was as sorely needed as it was surprising.

``It was unbelievable. It was fun to watch too,'' a hoarse coach Kurt Rambis said.

Fun, as in watching Robert Horry score a season-high 22 points off the bench, making 6 of 8 attempts from 3-point range. And fun, as in watching Shaquille O'Neal pound the Blazers for a game-high 38 points. Fun, as in the Lakers finally defeated the Blazers for the first time in three tries.

As an added bonus, the victory guaranteed the Lakers no worse than a fifth-place seeding in the Western Conference playoffs and a definite date with the Houston Rockets in the first round. With the Rockets losing to Dallas, the Lakers also moved within a half-game of Houston for the fourth seed and home-court advantage.

``They showed themselves what they're capable of doing when they do play hard, when they put a maximum effort into it and when they play as a team,'' Rambis said.

They got there with a 52.9 percent shooting performance and a team effort that was reflected in their 29 assists, seven from Kobe Bryant. They got there as well with a season-high 11 3-pointers.

Perhaps that marathon team meeting two days earlier got a few things ironed out after all.

Everything had changed, and there was no mistaking it.

You could see it in O'Neal's grim reaper expression and his punishing 22-point first half, which staked the Lakers to a 54-45 halftime lead - their first halftime lead in eight games. You could see it in O'Neal's dive over press row for a loose ball on offense, and in Derek Fisher's diving, rolling snare of another on defense. It was evident in spindly Travis Knight's tug-of-war steal from the burly arms of Arvydas Sabonis.

And you could see it in the return of the Lakers' fast break, left for dead during the recent slump but good for eight points in the first half - including a behind-the-back pass from Bryant to O'Neal for a dunk and a 270-degree spinning jam from Bryant.

Heck, O'Neal even made 14 of 17 free throws to go with 12-of-19 field-goal shooting.

Inspired or desperate, maybe both, the Lakers are alive.

``That's a glimpse. There's more to come,'' Horry said with a grin.

``Nobody's really saying much good about the Lakers right now,'' J.R. Reid said, ``but we're just trying to play, not worry about what other people's expectations are. Just get it done ourselves. . . . Guys are ready, we're focusing in now, we know it's crunch time, and this is what it's all about.''

An improved showing against the Blazers was not entirely unexpected. After all, this was the third meeting in 17 days, and in two previous defeats, both in Portland, the Lakers had cut their loss margin from 27 points to six. It seemed to be only a matter of time before they made up the rest.

``They kicked out butts,'' Reid said. ``We've been getting our butts kicked the last couple weeks, guys have gotta be tired of it. Tonight was just an opportunity for us to try to get our self-respect back.''

Not that all the Blazers had such respect. ``We lost to an L.A. team that shouldn't beat us,'' J.R. Rider said. ``They're not the Laker team of old, so they shouldn't beat us.''

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos, Box

Photo: (1--Color) Kobe Bryant blocks Jim Jackson's shot.

(2) The Lakers' Shaquille O'Neal slam dunks two of his game-high 38 points, 22 in the first half.

Tom Mendoza/Daily News

Box: GAME RECAP