NO SHAQ, NO FIREPOWER MINUS SUSPENDED CENTER, LAKERS FALL TO PACERS INDIANA 85, LAKERS 72.

Byline: Howard Beck Staff Writer

INDIANAPOLIS - Undermined for months by freak accidents and freakish injuries, the Lakers arrived at their second stop on a laborious road trip, on the heels of a victory, with the understandable belief they might soon gain some traction and some sanity in their basketball world.

But then Shaquille O'Neal came down with a case of mad-mouth disease - just days after Kobe Bryant lost his scuffle with a garage window - and by Monday night, the Lakers were once more pushing through the dizzying twists and turns of a wildly unpredictable season.

They lost 85-72 to an Indiana Pacers team missing its leading scorer, Jermaine O'Neal, though the defeat was no more psychologically damaging than what they've already endured.

``Man,'' Gary Payton exhaled, ``this is one of the craziest seasons I've had in a long time. We've just got to get through it.''

Payton was again a solo act Monday, robbed of Fab Four partners O'Neal, Bryant and Karl Malone for the sixth time. The Lakers are 1-5 in those games, but the striking part this time was how preventable the circumstances were.

O'Neal was suspended one game by the league after swearing twice on live television Sunday. With him, the Lakers stood a chance to open their seven-game trip 2-0. Without him, they appeared dazed, susceptible to the rugged tag-team attack of Ron Artest (24 points) and Al Harrington (16 points) and looking weak against a team that coach Phil Jackson called ``the odds-on favorite to come out of the East.''

And the bad mojo continued to spread. Kareem Rush sprained his right ankle in the third quarter and did not return, leaving the Lakers with nine players. Rush is questionable for Wednesday's game at Cleveland.

Teammates sympathized with O'Neal's frustration at the referees, and team officials accused the league of overreacting, but everyone wished he had exercised a little more self-control under the circumstances.

``I've got to talk to 'Big' a little bit more, I've got to tell him to be quiet a little bit more,'' said Payton. ``I'm going to have a heart-to-heart talk with him (today) on the plane. He'll be all right. As long as he's standing on the floor, I think we'll be OK.''

Said Rick Fox, ``We definitely don't need anything else to pop up. Any time we lose control emotionally, it's preventable.''

Despite his grievance with the referees, O'Neal was coming off his most productive game of the season, 36 points against the undersized Toronto Raptors, and was gaining momentum after spending three weeks healing a calf strain.

On Monday, O'Neal missed his 15th game.

Meanwhile, Bryant spent the day in Colorado, with a cut finger, a stomach virus and a day yet to be spent in court. Malone was in Orange County, working out the kinks in his injured knee. The loss of O'Neal was difficult to absorb.

``There's never been anything like this in my (14) years of coaching,'' Phil Jackson said.

The Lakers missed their first six shots of the game - five of them airballs - and by the time the evening was over, had hoisted seven attempts that failed to draw iron (not counting the eight shots the Pacers blocked). They mustered just 10 points in the first quarter, a season low.

``It's like that song they were playing - 'Whooo are you?' - when they introduced us,'' said Horace Grant, offering his best Roger Daltrey impersonation. ``That's how we played. I mean, we didn't know who we were the first quarter. It was a disaster. I mean, if I wasn't a Christian man, give me the mike and I'll say a few things.''

The Lakers found themselves a little in the second half, outscoring the Pacers 46-44 and shooting 50 percent from the field. But they never got closer than nine points and set season lows in points and field-goal percentage (.347).

``We did a good job, we competed,'' Payton said. ``But we still need Big Fella. If he was here, it probably would have been a different story.''

Howard Beck, [phone]

howard.beck(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, 3 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- color) Indiana forward Ron Artest puts up a shot against Lakers forward Devean George. Without Shaquille O'Neal, the Lakers fell short in Indianapolis.

Tom Strattman/Associated Press

(2) Ron Artest, who led the Pacers with 24 points, goes up for a dunk in Monday's game.

Darron Cummings/Associated Press

Box:

(1) STORY LINES

(2) SHAQ vs. NO SHAQ

(3) GAME RECAP