LAKERS NOTEBOOK: HORRY ABLE TO GUT IT OUT.

Byline: Howard Beck Staff Writer

With every slow walk back up the court, with every grimace and with that occasionally gimpy-looking gait of his, Robert Horry singlehandedly raised the anxiety level of an entire building at regular intervals Sunday.

As is often the case with the Lakers' most valuable reserve, Horry felt a lot better than he sometimes looked.

``I'm cool,'' Horry said after playing an effective 30 minutes in the Lakers' playoff opener at Staples Center.

Three consecutive days of therapy have alleviated most of the discomfort that came with a hematoma that developed under Horry's abdominal muscle.

He gamely defended Rasheed Wallace (8 for 20) with his usual annoying stickiness, and he filled up the stats sheet as only Horry can: four points, four rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks.

``I didn't play that well,'' Horry said. ``I did some things, but in my eyes I could have done a lot of things better. I could have got a couple loose balls. In the playoffs, you want to have a perfect game, and that's the way I was looking at it.''

The Lakers were pleased just to have Horry on the court at all, and playing near full speed.

He did miss a third-quarter dunk and lingered in the backcourt during a couple Portland fast breaks. At one point, Horry winced and grabbed his left side, raising concern he'd aggravated the injury. But Horry said he simply took a Ruben Patterson elbow to the hip bone.

``He didn't look hurt to me,'' Portland coach Maurice Cheeks said.

With the elongated playoff schedule, Horry has three days to continue strengthening his stomach muscles before Game 2 on Thursday.

--Power outage: It seems the Lakers will rely heavily on Horry. Samaki Walker, making his playoff debut as the starting power forward, logged just 14 minutes, picking up four fouls. He finished with four rebounds and went scoreless.

Mark Madsen made a one-minute cameo, but coach Phil Jackson said flatly he is ``not very comfortable'' playing Madsen or Slava Medvedenko much in the playoffs.

``We'll use them if we have to use them,'' he said.

--Ring thing: Jackson's ring finger is again sparkling with a gaudy hunk of diamonds and gold, a sure sign the playoffs have begun. The Lakers coach never wears his NBA championship rings until mid-April.

``Why? That's what we play for,'' he said.

But the rings spend the rest of the year in storage.

``I hate them,'' Jackson said. ``There's about a pound on your finger, it develops a callous. You can't clap your hands without bone-bruising your other hand, and they're awkward when you shake hands with people.''

Jackson always wears the most recent edition, so he's toting the 2001 ring. He has 10 in all, counting the six he won coaching the Chicago Bulls and the two he won playing for the New York Knicks.

``Fortunately, I've been able to wear all 10 of my championship rings at some period of time in my coaching the playoffs.''

--I'll tumble four ya: Shaquille O'Neal reintroduced himself to a few fans late in the fourth quarter, somersaulting over the baseline seats after being fouled by Dale Davis. He landed on his back, feet up in the air, but everyone involved was fine.

``He loves doing that,'' Jackson said. ``That's one of the things he likes to do. He likes to get close to the fans and have intimate relations with them.''

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The Lakers' Robert Horry, making a pass over Portland's Bonzi Wells, played 30 minutes in Sunday's playoff opener at Staples Center. It was his first game action in nearly a week.

Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer