SOME LEFTOVER BUSINESS WITH SHAQ AILING, MALONE, PAYTON HELP DELIVER LOUD MESSAGE TO SPURS LAKERS 103, SAN ANTONIO 87.

Byline: Howard Beck Staff Writer

Late in the fourth quarter of a game that had long since lost any sense of intrigue, Mitch Kupchak was still leaning forward in his chair, glasses hanging low on his nose, staring intently down on the Staples Center court from his mid-level perch.

No one amid the 18,997 in the building Friday night had more reason to be rapt by the final meaningless minutes, or more satisfied by the lack of suspense.

The Lakers' 103-87 rout of the San Antonio Spurs put the greatest exclamation point yet on a busy summer that saw Kupchak infuse a flagging dynasty with the two greatest players available. For whatever a late-November victory was worth, the Lakers' general manager surely enjoyed every second of it.

Karl Malone put every muscle in his frame into Tim Duncan and pushed him to frustration. Gary Payton harassed Tony Parker into irrelevance. And the Lakers, shoved out of the playoffs by San Antonio last May, regained something tangible in this rivalry.

``They're hell on wheels right now,'' Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.

And possibly more than that. The Lakers controlled the game from start to finish, leading by as many as 31 points, despite a so-so night from Shaquille O'Neal, who scored just seven points after a seven-day layoff to rest a strained calf.

Malone had a triple-double - the first 40-year-old in NBA history to do so - Payton and Kobe Bryant scored 17 points each and Devean George turned in a season-high 19.

The Spurs scrambled from one All-Star to the next, trying to find some answer to the onslaught, and came up empty.

In the first meeting in which both teams were at full strength, the new- look Lakers had the edge in every aspect of the game.

``They made an immediate impact,'' Bryant said of Malone and Payton. ``Just jumped right into it. As far as being physical, trash-talking and Karl's ability to pass the ball, Gary's ability to push the ball. They jumped right into it - both feet.

``We have a full thrust. Our whole team comes at them. Last year it was a one-two punch. This year it's just a wave. And that's how we play. It's not only myself, Gary, Karl and Shaquille. It's also Devean George. He's featured in our offense. They have five guys to think about.''

Malone had 10 points, 10 assists and 11 rebounds for his fourth career triple-double, and he held Duncan to 11 points on 3-for-10 shooting. The matchup was more physical than Duncan could handle - ``It irritated him,'' Lakers coach Phil Jackson said.

Parker went 6 for 17 from the field, scoring 12 points in 29 minutes.

Neither Spurs star ever came close to the level that lifted San Antonio to the championship in June after dispatching the Lakers in six games of the conference semifinals.

In a rare departure from the stock cliches, not to mention stock November apathy, the Lakers cared about this game, willingly admitted it, and showed it at every opportunity.

After the Lakers pushed the lead to 15 points early in the second quarter, Bryant skipped to the bench and leaped toward Horace Grant for a flying chest-bump.

``With all the hoopla, probably one of the biggest games of the year,'' Malone admitted. ``But it's just one game in a long season, and we're going to play a lot more big games.''

The victory was the Lakers' 24th in a row at home, tying the best streak in the L.A. era. They are 2-0 against the Spurs, with a third meeting coming next week in San Antonio.

But they have a sense now of the impact their new stars will have on this rivalry.

``It gave us an idea,'' Jackson said. ``We'll know more after Wednesday night's game.''

The Spurs came with their own reloaded lineup, bolstered by Rasho Nesterovic, Ron Mercer and Hedo Turkoglu, and a lanky guy with an awkward gait wearing No. 5. Robert Horry, making his first appearance at Staples Center as a Spur, went scoreless in nine minutes.

O'Neal's only points of the first half came on a a pair of free throws, but the Lakers had a 47-34 lead by halftime. He finally scored from the field two minutes into the second half, spinning past Nesterovic for a two-handed jam. He finished with two dunks and four misses but said his calf was fine.

``I'm good, I'm good,'' O'Neal said. ``I was kind of rusty on my shot. I wasn't going to force it, so I just said to myself, `I'm just going to do other stuff.' ''

Howard Beck, [phone]

howard.beck(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

photo, 2 boxes

Photo:

(color) Shaquille O'Neal, who played just 25 minutes, shoots over the Spurs' Tim Duncan in the first quarter Friday.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer

Box:

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(2) GAME RECAP