SPURRED BY FATE PLAYOFF LOSS LAST SPRING LED MALONE TO LAKERS.

Byline: Howard Beck Staff Writer

EL SEGUNDO - Before the Lakers confront disasters past and seize the chance to rectify them, they might pause to consider the dizzying cause- effect loop that got them here.

The Lakers were crushed by the San Antonio Spurs last spring, prompting their most far-reaching overhaul in years.

The reloading process led them to Karl Malone, a future Hall of Famer pining for his first championship.

Malone helped spark an 18-3 run to start the season and an 11-game winning streak that revived the Lakers in March, then provided the scoring punch that pushed the Lakers past the Houston Rockets and back to the conference semifinals.

Where, of course, the Spurs again await.

If the balance of power slides back to the Lakers, it might be because of Malone, in which case the Spurs will have put in action the events that cause their own demise.

It's a bit like one of those ``Star Trek'' episodes where they spend three days stuck in a temporal rift.

Had it all gone differently, Robert Horry might still be in purple, and Malone would almost certainly be in silver and black.

``San Antonio won and the Lakers lost, so I came here,'' Malone said Friday. ``It was one or the other. It was there or here.''

The Spurs won the title, the Lakers won the Hall of Fame forward.

So Malone will be leading the charge against Tim Duncan when the series opens Sunday afternoon in San Antonio, and Horry will be flinging 3-pointers for the Spurs.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich pursued Malone hard last July, figuring the 40-year-old bruiser could fill the old David Robinson role of protecting Duncan. The Lakers, of course, needed a scoring, rebounding power forward in the worst way.

Malone, on his way out of Utah after 18 years, had great options but one requirement: He didn't want to join a reigning champion.

``And because (the Spurs) won last year, I didn't want to be considered just jumping on the wagon - even though people said the same thing (about coming) here,'' Malone said. ``If the Lakers would have won and San Antonio would have lost, I would have been in San Antone. That was my mind-set.''

Instead, he called Gary Payton, made a pact to join the Lakers in tandem, and the Spurs used the millions they would have spent on Malone to sign Horry.

By early December, the Lakers were pretty pleased with the results. They beat the Spurs three times in 29 days - twice at the SBC Center, where the Lakers had been winless in five trips.

Malone, proving he was no Samaki Walker, averaged 13.7 points and 13.3 rebounds in the three victories. Duncan missed the first game, scored 11 points in the second and exploded for 30 in the third meeting.

But the Lakers knew what they had by then: a sturdy, smart defender who, even at 40 years old, could change the dynamics in the rivalry.

``We're better prepared to face them,'' Kobe Bryant said Friday.

Never was Malone's value more evident than in the Lakers' 4-1 series victory over Houston. The Rockets chose to collapse on Shaquille O'Neal at every opportunity, and a wide-open Malone averaged 20.8 points on .557 shooting in the final four games.

Now the Spurs will be faced with a decision they never encountered in past playoff meetings with the Lakers: defend O'Neal man-to-man (and risk having him go for 30 points) or send a double-team (and risk having Malone go for 30 points).

``There's going to be opportunities in this (series),'' said Malone, who predicted he could be even more of a factor in the next round.

``I know me. I'm my biggest critic. And I realize I can do a lot more things,'' he said, including better pick-and-roll defense. ``I know I can play better and I feel like I will play better. I'm just relaxed. I just have a relaxed feeling.''

As the Lakers and Spurs - who have won all five championships in the post-Jordan era - duel for dynastic supremacy, the whole thing might turn on the movements of a 40-year-old on a mission.

``I'm not looking really to be the difference,'' Malone said. ``I still feel like my best basketball in these playoffs is really ahead of me right now. ... I'm starting to feel like I'm getting into a decent rhythm now. So hopefully, I can keep that going. But I'm not really looking, saying I'm the X-factor or the difference. I'm looking to stay within what we're trying to do and hopefully get to the next round.''

Howard Beck, [phone]

howard.beck(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

photo, 2 boxes

Photo:

(color) Because of their devastating playoff loss to the Spurs last year, the Lakers engaged in an overhaul of their lineup that eventually resulted in Karl Malone coming to Los Angeles.

Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer

Box:

(1) DIFFERENT WORLDS

(2) LAKERS vs. SPURS: Best-of-seven series