LAKERS NOTEBOOK : SEEKING A MEMORY PURGE.

Byline: Marc Stein Daily News Staff Writer

Travis Knight's first free throw in the NBA can be described only one way.

Unforgettable.

Although Knight recovered to swish his second attempt from the stripe and later tipped home a loose rebound for his first pro basket, the rookie center realizes that everyone he knows is going to focus on his airball in the Lakers' double-overtime victory Tuesday in Houston.

That's why Knight refused to check his answering machine back home, knowing ``there's going to be a lot of messages.''

``I didn't want to do it,'' Knight said Wednesday, visibly embarrassed by his only real mistake in a creditable three-minute stint against Hakeem Olajuwon in crunch time.

``I'll leave it for when I get back. I get enough grief from my teammates.''

Shaq vs. Hak postscript: Because of foul trouble on both sides, Shaquille O'Neal and Olajuwon rarely shared the court Tuesday. Knight, a 7-foot project, got in only because O'Neal sat out both overtimes after drawing his sixth personal; Olajuwon played just 10 minutes in the first three quarters.

The Lakers' victory gave O'Neal a 7-2 record against Olajuwon in regular-season play. In the playoffs, Olajuwon's Rockets swept O'Neal's Orlando Magic 4-0 in the 1995 NBA Finals.

Slammed: It was only one point. It wasn't even the turning point. But it was a biggie.

During his stretch of seven straight points in the fourth quarter Tuesday, Houston's Matt Bullard was hit with a technical foul for turning toward the Lakers' bench and raising both arms in triumph after a dunk. Eddie Jones made the ensuing free throw and the teams wound up going to double OT.

``I only get one or two dunks a year and I can't celebrate?'' Bullard asked. ``I was trying to get the crowd into it. When the whistle blew, I thought I'd been fouled.''

Said Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich: ``I'm not trying to be racial here, but when a white guy goes up and dunks, then does that, (he's) just trying to be emotional. It wasn't like he was over on their bench. Taunting, to me, is when you attack the other team, and I didn't see that.''

Layups: Eddie Jones' two 3-pointers in the first quarter against the Spurs extended his team-record streak to 13 consecutive games with at least two triples. . . . With the win in Houston, the Lakers have taken five straight overtime contests and 14 of their past 17. The 11-point difference was the Lakers' largest OT victory margin since moving to L.A. in 1960. . . . O'Neal's 9-for-10 shooting start against the Rockets tied a franchise record for most field goals in a quarter.

CLIPPERS vs. SEATTLE

Tipoff: 7:30 p.m., Sports Arena

TV/Radio: KCAL (Channel 9), KNEWS-AM (540/1260)

Sonics (5-2) update: Seattle's getting back into form, especially Shawn Kemp, who scored 31 and 33 points recently against Sacramento and Golden State. The addition of Jim McIvaine has bolstered the Sonics' interior defense and allows Sam Perkins and Detlef Schrempf to concentrate more on scoring. After losing two early games, Seattle has won four straight and is the Lakers' main threat to a Pacific Division title.

Clippers (4-2) update: The trend of fourth-quarter play continues and the club feels pretty good about winning three straight road games. Starters Loy Vaught and Kevin Duckworth are struggling and both have not played in critical stretches lately. The play of reserve Bo Outlaw, who has replaced Vaught, has been sparkling. He could see plenty of Kemp on defense tonight.

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