LAKERS NOTEBOOK: SERIES OPENERS NO LONGER ZEN.

Byline: Daily News Staff Reports

Heading into the opener of the NBA Finals on Wednesday, the Lakers were a perfect 7-0 in series openers under coach Phil Jackson.

``A lot of it is preparation,'' Jackson said before Game 1 against the Philadelphia 76ers. ``A lot of it is coming to a game ready to know what to do, so that you can react and play. I think that the preparation for this game is going to be as difficult as any I've had.''

Jackson likened the nine-day layoff to the eight-day break his Chicago Bulls had before the 1996 Finals.

``And it took us a half to kind of get ourselves going in a ballgame like this,'' he said. ``So I anticipate it will be tough to get it going.''

And, judging by the Lakers 107-101 defeat in overtime, Jackson's prediction was right.

Splitting: History remains on the Lakers' side.

Since the league adopted the 2-3-2 format in the NBA Finals in 1985, the teams have split the first two games seven times and the team with the home-court advantage has won the title six times. The 1985 Lakers were the only team that pulled off the upset, against Boston.

--Goal met: The Lakers knew, of course, they couldn't stop Iverson. But they figured if they forced him to take 40 shots, they'd accomplish their defensive goal.

``We anticipate Allen's going to score points,'' Phil Jackson said. ``We want him to take 40 shots to get 40 points. He did it (Iverson was 18 of 41) and found a way to win (anyway).''

--Free throws: The Lakers found themselves in an undesirable position. Of the team's 27 free-throw attempts Wednesday, Shaquille O'Neal took 22. He converted only 10 - not bad by Shaq standards but below his postseason average of 53.2 percent. Kobe Bryant, who has averaged 10.4 free-throw attempts in the postseason (converting 8.4), went to the line only once - following SixerS coach Larry Brown's third-period technical.

The 76ers, by contrast, were 23 of 25 from the line, with Iverson 9 for 9.

``They beat us at the free-throw line,'' Jackson said. ``Their free- throw shooting was the difference in the ballgame, and Shaq had many opportunities. I know he'd like to make more than he did.''

--Confidence in Kobe: O'Neal made no excuses, gave credit where it was due and said the Lakers will regroup for Game 2.

``Kobe had a tough night,'' O'Neal said. ``They bodied him. He's a tough kid; he's going to come back strong on Friday. The whole team's going to play better on Friday.

``I'm just going to blame it on one of those days for us. They're a great, scrappy, energetic team. ... We made a couple of mistakes down the stretch and I know we just have to get it back. And we will.''

--Lue takes cue: In search of an answer for The Answer, Lakers coach Phil Jackson turned to the end of his bench for Tyronn Lue, the most unlikely Allen Iverson stopper.

Lue, a little-used guard, played 17 crucial minutes in the second half as the Lakers rallied to force overtime in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, and even though they fell 107-101, Lue made an impact that will be remembered.

Lue, who also played in overtime in place of Derek Fisher, held Iverson to three points when they went head to head, and the Lakers outscored the 76ers 36-22 with Lue on the court.

``I just felt confident because I didn't have anything to lose against the MVP,'' said Lue, who had played a total of 58 minutes in 10 previous playoff games this year. ``I was just hoping for an opportunity to show what I could do with my speed.

``The best way to play him is to keep the ball out of his hands, because once he catches it, it's hard to control him. ... You just try to jab at him and keep him off kilter as much as possible.''

Lue also made two of three shots from the field for five points and drew the ire of Iverson, who claimed that Lue's defense included a few uncalled fouls.

``Hey, you've got to do whatever it takes to try to control the MVP of the league,'' Lue said with a smile.

--Staples Center open: Staples Center will be open for fans who wish to watch the Lakers' games in Philadelphia on Sunday, Wednesday and Friday next week. Tickets cost $5 for children, $10 for adults; they are available at TicketMaster and at the Staples Center box office. The arena will open one hour before tipoff.

--Iverson stuff: With his performance Wednesday, Allen Iverson is making a bid to become the 13th player in history to become both the regular- season and NBA Finals MVP in the same season. Shaquille O'Neal achieved that feat a year ago.

Iverson, who led the league by averaging 31.1 points a game this season, also is attempting to become the fourth player to win a scoring title, regular-season MVP and team championship the same season. O'Neal, Michael Jordan (four times) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (with the Bucks in 1970-71) also did it.

- Howard Beck, Vincent Bonsignore and Michael A. Anastasi

LAKERS vs. 76ERS

Best-of-seven series

GAME 1

Philadelphia 107

Lakers 101

GAME 2

Friday at Lakers

6 p.m., Ch. 4

GAME 3

Sunday at 76ers

4:30 p.m., Ch. 4

GAME 4

June 13 at 76ers

6 p.m., Ch. 4

GAME 5

June 15 at 76ers

6 p.m., Ch. 4

GAME 6

June 18 at Lakers

6 p.m., Ch. 4 (if necessary)

GAME 7

June 20 at Lakers

6 p.m., Ch. 4 (if necessary)

CAPTION(S):

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LAKERS vs. 76ERS (see text)