PRIMED FOR PERFECTION? THE LAKERS HAVE WON NINE PLAYOFF GAMES IN A ROW. THEY'RE THREE VICTORIES SHY OF THE SPURS' SINGLE-SEASON RECORD AND SIX FROM MAKING HISTORY -- A PERFECT POSTSEASON.

Byline: Vincent Bonsignore Staff Writer

Before L.A. fans start making plans for a downtown parade celebrating the Lakers' latest NBA championship, a reminder:

Dominance in the first three rounds, however convincing it might appear, isn't always a precursor to winning the big prize.

Lakers fans, of all people, should know that.

After all, the 1988-89 Lakers were just as overpowering as this year's team through the first three rounds, sweeping through Portland, Phoenix and Seattle in 11 games on their way to a Finals matchup with Detroit.

L.A., led by reigning league MVP Magic Johnson and a deep, talented rotation, was expected to cruise past Detroit to win its third consecutive NBA Championship.

It never happened.

The night before Game 1, sharpshooting guard Byron Scott, who averaged 19.6 points that year, tore a hamstring during a meaningless rebounding drill in the waning moments of practice, putting him out of the series. Then in Game 2, Magic also went down with a hamstring tear, sidelining him the rest of the series.

The Lakers, without Magic, their heart and soul, and Scott, their third- leading scorer, were helpless against the hungry Pistons, falling in four games. Instead of securing their place among the greatest teams in history, they became a footnote.

Maybe that's why the contemporary Lakers, on a winning streak of 17 games and two wins away from blasting into the NBA Finals with an 11-0 postseason record, tread lightly around the subject of running the table to become the first team in history to go through the playoffs 15-0.

The way they handled Portland and Sacramento in the first two rounds, and the manner in which they took apart San Antonio on the road to take the first two games against the Spurs, has many NBA observers wondering if the Lakers have what it takes to ride the streak all the way through, thus forging their place among the best of all time.

It is a conversation the Lakers are leaving to others to discuss.

``We're not thinking about history, we're just thinking about winning Game 3,'' forward Horace Grant said. ``That's the only place our focus is.''

Shaquille O'Neal agrees.

``We're not even worried about any of that stuff,'' he said. ``Just taking it one game at a time.''

History might not be on the side of the Lakers in terms of finishing the postseason unscathed. But if they win the next two games at Staples Center to finish off the Spurs, they have every right to at least consider the possibility of being sized for their second set of championship rings.

Aside from the star-crossed 1988-89 Lakers team, the two other teams that swept through the early rounds into the final went on to close the deal out.

The 1950 Minneapolis Lakers swept through Chicago, Ft. Wayne and Anderson before beating Syracuse 4-2 in the NBA Finals. The Lakers' win streak that year reached eight games.

The 1981-82 Lakers blew past Phoenix and San Antonio in eight games, then beat Philadelphia 4-2 in the final. That Lakers team won nine in a row before dropping Game 2 to the 76ers.

At least one Lakers player admits the thought of surpassing those clubs and finishing the playoffs with a record-breaking 15-0 mark crosses his mind.

``It's out there and it's not a distraction in any way,'' Rick Fox said. ``It's a goal to tack on to the goal of being the last one standing. No one's done it.''

The Lakers' nine-game playoff winning streak ranks third all time and ties them with the 1996 Bulls and the 1981-82 Lakers, both of whom won NBA championships.

Ironically, the Spurs have the record for the longest postseason streak, winning 12 in a row in 1999. That year, San Antonio lost to Minnesota in the first round, then strung together 12 in a row and beat New York 4-1 to claim the championship.

The Lakers' 1988-89 team, which lost Magic and Scott and got swept by the Pistons, is second at 11. Perhaps that is why the current Lakers try not to dwell on what they've done so far, knowing how quickly it can all fall apart.

``The reason why we've been successful and we haven't lost a game is because we've taken each of them one game at a time,'' Derek Fisher said. ``That's the biggest thing for us.''

Even if the Lakers lose one, maybe two games the rest of the way, they likely will be regarded as one of the best playoff teams ever, which is unusual considering they won a respectable but not overwhelming 56 games and were regarded as an underachieving team through most of the regular season.

That all changed after they won their final eight games of the season to surge into the playoffs playing their best basketball of the year.

And now that they've won nine consecutive games in the playoffs, their confidence level is nearly unshakable.

``The confidence is sky high right now because of the wins,'' said Grant, who won three titles with the Bulls. ``Whenever we step on the floor, we feel we can't be beat. And it's not being cocky; we just have a lot of confidence.''

The 1982-83 76ers, who went 12-1 to win the NBA title, are largely considered the best playoff team of all time. Philadelphia featured a dominating center (Moses Malone) and a high-flying wing man (Julius Erving), much like the Lakers' O'Neal/Kobe Bryant tandem. The supporting cast consisted of Andrew Toney, Maurice Cheeks and Bobby Jones.

The 76ers' only loss was against the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference finals. They swept the Lakers in the Finals.

Other great playoff teams include the 1971 Milwaukee Bucks (12-2), led by Kareem-Abdul Jabbar and Oscar Robertson, and the 1986 Boston Celtics (15-3) with a starting five of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Dennis Johnson and Danny Ainge.

Grant was a key part of the 1991 Bulls (15-2), who lost to the 76ers in the semifinals and to the Lakers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, then won four in a row against L.A. to win Michael Jordan's first championship.

``We were a confident team that year,'' Grant said. ``Even when we lost that first game, which we had a chance to win at the end, we felt good about ourselves.''

Sort of like the Lakers right now.

LAKERS vs. SAN ANTONIO

GAME 3

Friday

--TV: Ch. 4, 6 p.m.

CONSECUTIVE VICTORIES

SPURS '99: 12

LAKERS '89: 11

LAKERS '01: 9

BULLS '96: 9

LAKERS '82: 9

CAPTION(S):

6 photos, 2 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- color) SPURS '99: 12

(2 -- color) LAKERS '89: 11

(3 -- color) LAKERS '01: 9

(4 -- color) BULLS '96: 9

(5 -- color) LAKERS '82: 9

(6) Center Shaquille O'Neal, left, and the Lakers want to surpass the 12- game playoff winning streak owned by Tim Duncan and the Spurs (1999).

Eric Gay/Associated Press

Box: (1) LAKERS vs. SAN ANTONIO (see text)

(2) CONSECUTIVE VICTORIES (see text)