LAKERS GET A BREATHER BRYANT SCORES 42 IN ROUT OF SUPERSONICS LAKERS 117, SEATTLE 94.

Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer

SEATTLE - So this was how it was supposed to go for the Lakers this season, with Vlade Divac throwing alley-oop passes, turning back-door cuts into easy baskets and maybe tossing in one of those patented flops every once in a while.

It took 76 games to see it, but the Lakers finally got a glimpse Friday night at KeyArena of what could have been had Divac not suffered a herniated disc in his back during September workouts.

With Divac playing a season-high 21 minutes, the Lakers hammered the Seattle SuperSonics 117-94, bringing their five-game losing streak to an end and beating a team with a winning record for the first time in four weeks.

``It was beautiful, huh?'' Divac said.

Kobe Bryant scored 30 of his game-high 42 points in the second half and Caron Butler added 31 as the Lakers played the role of spoiler to perfection, denying the Sonics the victory they needed to clinch the Northwest Division.

But the story was Divac, whose impact on the game went far beyond the box score. He finished with a modest three points and four assists but the Lakers took off on a 15-0 second-quarter run with him on the floor.

Two plays showed just how much the Lakers could have used Divac this season. Bryant checked back in with 5:47 left in the second quarter and Divac immediately found him for an alley-oop dunk.

The next trip down court, Bryant and Butler both passed on 3-pointers and Divac wound up with the ball. Butler cut backdoor and Divac delivered the perfect bounce pass for a layup and 41-35 lead.

``You don't even want to take a difficult shot with him out there,'' Butler said. ``It's percentages with him. He's going to find you right there in the paint.

``The only thing you've got to do is cut, the ball will fall in your hands somehow, some way. A couple of times, it dropped in my hands and I didn't even know how close I was to the rim, he led me to the basket so well.

``He's definitely a big plus to have back out there.''

The story of these final games might be Divac and the decision the Lakers have to make about bringing him back next season for $5.4 million at age 37. Divac has said the Lakers would have made the playoffs had he been healthy all season.

``We don't know how long Vlade can play, not only in a game but if he can also last an NBA season,'' interim coach Frank Hamblen said. ``But he certainly make things easier for people.''

Divac even had his first great flop early in the fourth quarter Friday, collapsing to the court in dramatic fashion as Danny Fortson fouled him. The crowd groaned, the Lakers bench busted up and Divac couldn't suppress a laugh.

``I almost stood up and booed,'' Hamblen said. ``Then I remembered he was on my team.''

The Lakers avoided matching a franchise record with their 10th consecutive road loss. Their last victory over a winning team came on March 10 at Dallas and they entered Friday having lost 13 of the previous 14 games.

There was some karmic payback for Bryant as well, and it came at the expense of Seattle's Ray Allen. Bryant pump-faked Allen in the air and banked in a 3-pointer as the halftime buzzer sounded, sending the Lakers into the locker room leading 56-42.

It was Allen who predicted in October that Bryant would be ``very selfish'' in playing his first season without Shaquille O'Neal. Allen finished with 30 points and hit five 3-pointers but the Sonics shot 41.3 percent overall.

One night after shooting just 4 for 19 in a loss to Houston, Bryant was at his best Friday. He had five assists in the first quarter and shrugged his shoulders a la Michael Jordan after burying one 3-pointer after another late.

``It's important for us,'' Bryant said, ``just to get better every game so that we go into the offseason feeling like we've improved the last eight games, seven games, six games.''

Ross Siler, [phone]

ross.siler(at)dailynews.com

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