LAKERS NOTEBOOK: O'NEAL SHOWING OLD DOMINANCE.

Byline: Howard Beck Staff Writer

EL SEGUNDO - Shaquille O'Neal is flashing his dominant side again, though not often enough for the Lakers to build a winning streak and not consistently enough to offset some still-shaky play from his supporting cast.

And the prevailing view from the Lakers' antsy front office remains wait-and-see.

The Lakers came away from Sunday night's victory over Phoenix with a renewed sense of confidence, inspired by O'Neal's energetic 36-point, 16-rebound, four-block effort. They have won three of their past four games and four of the past six and for the first time appear to have a true sense of momentum.

Samaki Walker and Rick Fox are playing better, rookie Kareem Rush is making a contribution and Kobe Bryant is still Kobe Bryant.

It's all been encouraging, but management is not yet ready to declare the crisis over, or stop looking for outside help.

``We will not be deterred,'' coach Phil Jackson said, ``just because we won a couple games.''

The trade deadline is six weeks away, giving the Lakers (14-20) ample time to prove they don't need outside assistance.

But Jackson has lately pointed to a lack of consistent energy from his older veterans (Brian Shaw, Robert Horry, Rick Fox) and, desperate for athleticism on the floor, is trying to wring production out of Devean George, Samaki Walker and Rush.

``I've always said that if we can help ourselves, we'll help ourselves,'' Jackson said. ``And we feel like we need to be a little more athletic as a basketball club. I think the guys that have won championships for us in the last three years need some help to get us to a point in the game where they can do the effective things to help us win.''

As Jackson noted, the Lakers beat the Suns by only 12 points - despite getting O'Neal's best game of the season.

General manager Mitch Kupchak would not rule out a free-agent signing or a trade, although there aren't any impact players in the pool of unsigned veterans.

Ironically, after bemoaning the inadequacy of his supporting cast, O'Neal might be the one to save their jobs. His elevated level of play Sunday noticeably energized his teammates, who responded in kind.

If they continue to play that way, the victories will start to come in bunches, Kupchak said.

``The way he played (Sunday) night is the way we have become accustomed to him playing,'' Kupchak said. ``Although he has been putting up numbers before that, (Sunday) he was so much more active - blocking shots, taking baskets to the rim, getting rebounds, in-traffic rebounds. ...

``And to me, that was probably the most encouraging thing about our win (Sunday) night.''

--Also: Statistical oddity of the season: The Lakers are 13-6 in games played Friday through Sunday, but 1-14 from Monday through Thursday. ... Bryant has scored at least 30 points in five of the past seven games and is averaging 31.7 points (on .446 shooting), 7.6 assists and 7.9 rebounds during that span.

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- Howard Beck