SONICS' SECOND STRAIGHT; LAKERS LOSE IN OVERTIME; GUARDS FLOP : SEATTLE 113, LAKERS 108 (OT).

Byline: Howard Beck Daily News Staff Writer

Different venue, same outcome.

Whether in Seattle or SoCal, the SuperSonics have the Lakers' number this season, and that number is now 2 - as in two wins in two tries.

Behind 30 points from Gary Payton and 33 from Vin Baker, the Sonics beat the Lakers for the second time in three weeks, this time 113-108 in an overtime thriller before 17,505 at the Forum. The victory padded Seattle's lead in the Pacific Division to three games and left the Lakers pondering an extended stay in second place.

The Lakers got substandard production from their backcourt of Eddie Jones, back from illness, Kobe Bryant and Nick Van Exel. But Shaquille O'Neal scored 15 points in the third quarter and 12 in the fourth to keep the Lakers in the game and finished with a season-high 44 and 12 rebounds.

The Lakers had trailed the entire game after a brief 2-1 lead in the first quarter, but they played their best ball in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter to force overtime.

Once there, the Lakers took their first lead since the first quarter when Van Exel hit a 3-pointer to put the Lakers up 100-99. Minutes later, though, back-to-back baskets by Baker put the Sonics up 109-104, with 47.8 seconds to go.

Bryant's two free throws cut the deficit to 109-106, but the Sonics extended the lead to four when Payton hit one of two foul shots with 23.2 seconds to go.

Bryant cut it to two points again, 110-108, and then it was intentional-foul time. Detlef Schrempf hit one of two to make it a three-point game. The Lakers' last chance came down to a Bryant 3-point try, which failed to find net. Schrempf made one more free throw for the final 113-108 margin.

In the fourth quarter, Horry's two free throws with 47.6 seconds left in the game cut the Sonics' lead to one point, 96-95, the closest the Lakers had been all second half. With the Lakers down 97-95, O'Neal hit a turnaround baseline jumper with Sam Perkins hacking him. O'Neal missed the free throw with 17.8 seconds left, leaving the score knotted at 97-97.

Baker missed an 18-foot jumper at the buzzer to send the game into overtime.

The two Western Conference powers, the only ones to hold first place in the Pacific this season, always separated by no more than a handful of games, are halfway done with their season series. They meet again in Seattle on March 16, then close out the series at the Forum on March 20.

The Sonics took the first game 101-95 at KeyArena on Jan. 24. The Lakers kept it close for most of that game but were done in by poor free-throw shooting (58.8 percent) and an awful, 3-for-24 3-point shooting.

But a return to L.A. figured to provide the Lakers a boost. After all, they managed to rout the Chicago Bulls at the Forum after being blown out in Chicago.

Robert Horry said the home-court advantage is more than a cliche.

``I think it makes a big difference. Fans forget you get a lot of energy a lot of the time,'' he said.

Evening the series at 1-1 was the order of the evening for the Lakers, but Horry said a 2-0 deficit wouldn't necessarily leave the Lakers feeling overmatched by their rivals.

``You always want to win the series, but if you lose the series, I don't think that gives the edge to them (in the postseason),'' he said.

Or sometimes even in the regular season. Last year, the Lakers won the series 3-1 but the Sonics won the division and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

The Lakers welcomed All-Star Eddie Jones back to the lineup. Jones, who spent most of the week in bed with a viral infection, started his first game since Feb. 4.

``I thought I was on my deathbed,'' Jones said of the virus infection he caught during All-Star weekend. Jones couldn't keep his food down for several days and said he lost six pounds, dropping him to 191.

``Monday and Tuesday, I was terrible. Wednesday I started feeling a lot better,'' he said.

Jones missed both games this week and didn't practice with the team until Friday's morning shootaround. He felt fine after practice, though before tipoff, Jones said he was about 75 to 85 percent of his usual self.

``Up top, I've still got a little head cold. . . . I'm just happy to be able to move now, walk around and go somewhere.''

Jones' return gave the Lakers their No. 1 starting lineup for the first time since their Jan. 28 loss to New Jersey. Van Exel and Horry were both injured in that game, and the starting five has been a revolving door for two weeks.

The Lakers have now used 10 different starting lineups and haven't started the same lineup in consecutive games since Jan. 24-28. The preferred lineup of O'Neal-Horry-Fox-Jones-Van Exel has started just 16 times in 48 games.

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PHOTO (Color) Seattle's Vin Baker, center, is pressured under the basket by Lakers Robert Horry, left, and Shaquille O'Neal in the first half.

Associated Press