LAKERS NOTEBOOK: LAKERS REDISCOVER SWAGGER.

Byline: Gary Washburn Daily News Staff Writer

For the first time in a week, the Lakers walked away from a practice with some confidence.

It's hard to figure why a 16-5 team is short on confidence. But with the disappointing week the Lakers endured, it was obvious they lost some of the luster they had gained from 11 straight victories to begin the season. They returned from the Bay Area on Wednesday night embarrassed by the loss to Golden State.

``We might have had our best practice of the season on Thursday,'' guard Eddie Jones said. ``We came to practice focused and whenever we do that, good things happen.''

The Lakers whipped Houston in the second half on Friday and stopped the bleeding. Now the goal is taking care of Dallas before a crucial five-game road trip.

A 5-16 team doesn't appear to be reason for concern, but the Lakers have been notorious for having trouble with lesser teams (i.e. Golden State and Philadelphia) and would like to continue the momentum before heading to Minnesota on Tuesday.

``It sounds boring, but we have to take one game at a time,'' said Jones, who is shooting 51.2 percent from the field. ``That's what we did when won our first 11. We didn't take any team lightly. Lately, we have been losing our focus.''

The question hanging over the Lakers' head is the exact return date of Shaquille O'Neal. He isn't expected back until next Friday at Atlanta at the earliest.

The Lakers play at Chicago on Wednesday in a game that could determine whether they can beat a championship contender on the road. They failed their last few tests at Portland and at Miami.

``We feel like we can win at Chicago,'' Jones said. ``We won there two years ago. It's hard to tell if we'll have a healthy Shaq or not, but we have the confidence to win there.''

Lucky, I guess: Maybe it's good news that O'Neal won't be back for the Minnesota game on Tuesday. O'Neal sprained his knee last year at the Target Center and then re-aggravated his abdomen injury against the Timberwolves last month.

``Wait, we might not want to start him there,'' Lakers coach Del Harris said. ``I'm superstitious and that might be bad luck.''

O'Neal has been working out on his own and could return to practice with the team some time next week. He said he feels no pain in the abdomen area.

Some numbers: Despite the three-game losing streak, the Lakers remain first in the NBA in points per game (106.4) and field-goal percentage (48.0).

An Achilles' heel in the future could be foul shooting. The Lakers are 24th in the league at 70.2 percent.

LAKERS VS. DALLAS

Tipoff: 6:30 p.m., The Forum.

TV/Radio: Fox Sports West; KLAC-AM (570); KWKW-AM (1330, Spanish).

Lakers (16-5) update: The Lakers are half a game behind Seattle in the Pacific Division and on Friday snapped a losing streak at three games with a win over Houston. . . . Kobe Bryant and Rick Fox combined for 57 points in that effort. The Lakers would like to get this one before a tough five-game road trip starting Tuesday in Minnesota. The Lakers also visit Chicago, Atlanta, Charlotte and Houston.

Mavericks (5-16) update: The Mavericks have lost four straight, including a 68-66 loss Friday at Utah. . . . Dallas is 1-4 under new/old coach Don Nelson, who fired Jim Cleamons, then took his job. Former USC coach Charlie Parker has remained on as an assistant.

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BOX: LAKERS VS. DALLAS (see text)