THE HIGHER-POWER FORWARD VETERAN GREEN PROVIDES A STEADYING INFLUENCE.

Byline: Vincent Bonsignore Staff Writer

A.C. Green stretches his 6-foot-9 body across a vanity table inside a Staples Center dressing room. Lying on his back looking upward, Green seems perfectly positioned as he ponders his 14-year NBA career.

Green, a born-again Christian, turns to God to provide answers to all the important questions in his life. Now, as he thinks about the twists and turns of his long career, Green again searchs for a spiritual meaning.

He never thought he'd stay this long in the NBA. When he came to the Lakers in 1986 out of Oregon State, Green felt he'd be around 10 years, tops.

And he certainly never envisioned returning to the Lakers after leaving them in 1993 to join the Suns. The irony is that he left L.A. to try to help Phoenix win an NBA title. Now he's back where he started for the same reason. A year ago he played for the league's worst team, the Dallas Mavericks.

Trying to figure it all out is pointless, Green concedes. He surrendered direction of his life to God nearly 20 years ago, and no matter what course he's charted from that point, he knows a higher authority has ultimate ruling.

``I remember praying and asking God that if I can have 10 years in the NBA, that would be really nice. It's a good solid career, a nice number,'' Green said. ``But God had a different plan.''

That, and the Lakers had a glaring need at power forward.

In the final analysis, Green turned out to be an ideal addition, providing the Lakers with steady defense, rebounding and occasional scoring. He and fellow veteran additions Ron Harper and Brian Shaw also have kept the Lakers volatile egos in check.

``It was a simple decision for us to bring him back.'' said Lakers vice president Jerry West. ``He was somebody I knew and was comfortable with, and someone Phil (Jackson) felt could fit with the way he likes to do things. We are very pleased with how it's turned out.''

And tonight Green returns to Phoenix, where the Lakers and Suns play Game 3 of their best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series.

``It's definitely special for me going back; I had some good times there, made some great friends and played on some great teams,'' Green said. ``We didn't (win the championship) like we hoped, but it was a great experience.''

It was an odd marriage. A.C. Green, the quiet, low-key forward with the steady game and strong convictions, playing for the Los Angeles Lakers, who personified the wild, partying 1980s.

The Lakers were one big bash in those days, the tone set by owner Jerry Buss, megastar guard Magic Johnson and a style of play that perfectly suited Southern California's eclectic tastes.

The Lakers made living in Los Angeles cool.

A.C. Green was anything but cool. While Magic and James Worthy played with grace, Green was a grinder, the guy willing to do the dirty work.

Off the court he didn't make the rounds of the L.A. party scene. When teammates retreated to clubs after games, Green usually would go home or back to the hotel, where he'd spend time reading his Bible.

In society's warped sense of acceptance, especially the tempestuous world of professional sports, Green's lifestyle could have cast him an outsider. In fact, the question of how Green would fit in was a factor in some team's decision to draft him, accoring to Green, who discussed the matter with at least three general mangers prior to the 1985 draft.

``They didn't know how I was going to handle the lifestyle of the NBA, and I didn't know either,'' Green said.

``But I wasn't too concerned. These were just grown men who I admired from a basketball standpoint. You just have to go into the lion's den strong and secure in who you are.''

If teammates were concerned, it quickly faded. He won respect with his effort on the court. Off it, they admired his convictions.

``You have to understand that A.C. Green was a role model to all of us,'' said former Lakers player Orlando Woolridge. ``There were certain things in his personality that a lot of guys wished we had, but we didn't. A lot of times we looked at what A.C. represented and said we wished we could be like that.''

In his first five years in Los Angeles, Green played on two NBA-championship teams and appeared in three NBA finals. After moving into the starting lineup his second year, Green averaged double figures in scoring the next four seasons and led the Lakers in rebounding (7.8) in 1987.

He learned about winning during the early years with the Lakers, and it's knowledge he's taken with him to stops in Phoenix and Dallas, and now back in Los Angeles.

``Whatever goal you have you're going to have to work hard and you have to have a plan to achieve your goals,'' Green said. ``The emphasis on family, on being a team family, was paramount then.''

Green's first stay with the Lakers came to a close in 1993. The Lakers were making the transition from the Magic era, languishing around the .500 mark in A.C.'s final two years. For a player used to winning, the acceptance of mediocrity that permeated the Lakers' locker room at the time was unacceptable.

``The standards really decreased and that was the hard part for me,'' Green said.

So he left for Phoenix, where he would join Kevin Johnson, Charles Barkley, Dan Marerle.

The Suns never got to the finals during Green's 3 1/2 years in Phoenix, derailed twice by the Houston Rockets in the playoffs. Green, after averaging 14.7 points his first year and 11 his second, slipped below eight points per game the next two seasons. He was traded to Dallas in 1996 along with Michael Finley and Sam Cassell for Jason Kidd.

``We didn't reach our ultimate goals, but it was fun going to work with those guys every day and going after it,'' Green said. ``And that's all you can ever ask for.''

Green also blended well in the Phoenix community. The A.C. Green Foundation (Web site: acgreen.com), which started in L.A., opened an office in Phoenix, where it still operates. The foundation's youth abstinence program, now in five area school districts, is one of a handful of programs it offers in the community.

``It's been an awesome experience,'' Green said.

Which makes returning this weekend so special.

``It's always meaningful because of the relationship still there,'' Green said. ``It wasn't that long ago that I was there. I can remember having the jersey on, being in America West Arena and living right there. So it's fun.''

Green has played in an NBA-record 1,110 consecutive regular-season games, but he's not as frisky as he once was. Green can't bump and grind down in the paint for 40 minutes one night, then come right back the next and produce another 18 points and 10 rebounds.

These days the energy is distributed in short spurts. A flurry of rebounds and a couple a jumpers to start the Lakers off right in Game 5 against the Kings. A few in-your-face defensive stops to keep the pressure on the Suns in Game 2.

More important, Green continues to be an example for the younger Lakers, who see the championship banners Green helped the Lakers hoist during the 1980s and now want a few for themselves.

``A.C.'s been there, been there with the Lakers,'' O'Neal said. ``We want to go where he's been.''

And Green is happy to help lead them, although he knows who orchestrates things. Green believes he is with the Lakers for a reason.

``It's a sign of the blessing of God in my life,'' Green said. ``It's come around full circle and it's nice to see, nice to have that experience of coming back here and doing it all over again.''

GAME 3

LAKERS VS. PHOENIX

Lakers lead series 2-0

--Where: Phoenix

--When: Today, 7:30 p.m.

--TV: Ch. 9

WHEN THE STREAK BEGAN

A look back at the year A.C. Green's consecutive-games-played streak began.

--Shuttle Challenger explodes 73 seconds after liftoff.

--Accident at Chernobyl Nuclear Plant endangers USSR and Eurpoe.

--Boston Celtics draft pick Len Bias dies of cocaine use.

--Dow Jones reaches a high of 1,955.

--$30M secret weapons sale to Iran is revealed.

--Jack Nicklaus becomes oldest Masters champion.

--Mike Tyson becomes youngest heavyweight champion.

--Best Picture -- "Platoon"

--NBA champions -- Boston Celtics

--NBA MVP -- Larry Bird

A.C. GREEN YEAR-BY-YEAR

1985 Drafted by the Lakers as the 23rd overallpick

1986 Consecutive-games-played streak begins

1987-1988 Won back-to-back championships with Lakers

1989 Named to second-team All-NBA defense

1990 Starts at forward for the Western Conference

1993-1994 Best statistical season averaging 14.7 points and 9.2 rebounds per game

1996 Scores his 10,000th career point

1997 Becomes NBA's all-time Iron Man when he plays his 907th consecutive game

1999 Plays in his 1,000th consecutive game

CAPTION(S):

3 photos, 2 boxes

Photo: (1 -- color) A.C. Green and his stuffed bear root on the Lakers during a recent playoff game. The bear is a mascot of the A.C. Green Youth Foundation, a group which emphasizes athletes for abstinence.

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

(2 -- color) no caption (A.C. Green)

(3) A 14-year NBA veteran, Lakers power forward A.C. Green has not lost any of his intensity.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer

Box: (1) Game 3 (see text)

(2) When the streak began (see text)

Timeline: A.C. Green year-by-year (see text)