THRIVING ON THE PRESSURE STEADINESS CARRIES LAKERS TO VICTORY, 2-2 TIE IN SERIES LAKERS 99, SAN ANTONIO 95.

Byline: Howard Beck Staff Writer

That wasn't Phil Jackson sitting, Buddha-like, on the bench Sunday afternoon, presiding over a typically tenuous Lakers playoff game, directing his players through the final antsy minutes with that inimitable calm that weaves victories from chaos.

The beard, the awkward gait and the hand that has worn nine championship rings were resting comfortably in Playa Del Rey.

But the confident gaze, the steady breaths and the championship cool never left the Lakers as they navigated the tension of a tight fourth quarter, absorbed Tim Duncan's best efforts and pushed their way to a 99-95 victory over the San Antonio Spurs, tying the Western Conference semifinals at two games each.

It was, in so many ways, a Jackson kind of game. Just without the Jackson.

While the Lakers' coach recovered from a procedure to unclog an artery - and missed the first playoff game of his career - the team molded in his image retained its Zen.

Jim Cleamons took Jackson's seat. Kobe Bryant assumed Jackson's poise, scored 35 points and made a game-clinching steal in the final seconds.

The Lakers trailed by 16 but won the critical minutes. They made the important plays and also the lucky ones - Brian Shaw banking in a 3-pointer at the third-quarter buzzer. They let the Spurs make the final mistakes and exploited them.

And they gave Jackson's overworked heart a break.

``Let's say if he survived this, then he's OK,'' Cleamons quipped.

Jackson is likely to rejoin the team for practice this morning and is expected to travel with them to San Antonio this afternoon. Game 5 is Tuesday at the SBC Center.

``We kept him in our prayers,'' Shaw said.

So a weekend that began with a 2-0 deficit in the series and two players out, then worsened when Jackson unexpectedly checked into a hospital, finished well enough.

The Lakers got Devean George back, gave their coach time to get healthy and survived the most tumultuous weekend of their championship defense.

``I don't know if `survived' is the right term,'' Bryant said. ``We've encountered so many different challenges this year, we just looked at it as another obstacle. ... I like to use `thrive' in this type of situation. Through Phil teaching us how to play through adversity, it's gotten us to the point where we can try to thrive on that.''

The Spurs lost control of a series that looked like a breeze just four days ago. Duncan scored 36 points and got plenty of help from Stephen Jackson (15 points), Tony Parker (14) and Manu Ginobili (13), just not when it counted.

David Robinson epitomized the Spurs' frustration. He kept Shaquille O'Neal in check for most of the night but fouled out with 7:13 to play and left the arena clutching a book titled ``Finishing Strong.''

San Antonio took its final lead, 95-93, on a Jackson 3-pointer with 1:31 to play but failed to score the rest of the way. O'Neal hit a pair of free throws to tie the score. Bryant followed with three more and the Lakers had a 98-95 lead with 14.2 seconds left.

That's when the Spurs' youth clashed with the Lakers' veteran savvy.

As 18,997 screamed, and Jack Nicholson hollered, the Spurs put the ball in the hands of the 20-year-old Parker for a sideline inbounds pass. He ignored a wide-open Jackson five feet away and tried to zip a pass 10 feet farther to Ginobili. Bryant swooped in for the easy steal, then put the game away with another free throw.

``It was a bad decision,'' Parker said.

Said Bryant, ``It's just a matter of being poised in those situations.''

The Lakers had their sixth playoff victory, and Cleamons honored another Jackson tradition, jotting ``10 more'' on the locker-room dry-erase board. The two spoke by phone at halftime and again after the final buzzer.

``He felt like, our coaching staff felt like, we were extremely fortunate,'' Cleamons said. ``For whatever reason, San Antonio didn't come with their best effort. We know we have to play better than that on Tuesday night if we want to win down in Texas.''

O'Neal struggled to gain good scoring position, missed 11 of 17 field-goal attempts but finished with 29 points, on the strength of 17-for-23 foul shooting. He scored 11 points in the fourth quarter.

Derek Fisher added 17 points and was the first Laker not named Shaq or Kobe to score. His fast-break 3-pointer with 5:30 left in the first half ended a quarter-and-a-half scoreless streak for the role players.

The Lakers closed out the third quarter with a 16-3 run, capped by Shaw's off-balance bank-shot 3-pointer at the buzzer, giving the Lakers a four-point lead to open the fourth.

A few minutes later, Nicholson was on his feet again, reaching toward his chest and screaming for the Lakers to ``rip their (expletive) hearts out.''

``My hat goes off to my teammates. We kept fighting,'' O'Neal said. ``They did a wonderful job of just keep on fighting, fighting, fighting.''

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) FROM CHAOS TO VICTORY

Without Jackson and behind by 16, Lakers rally to even series

(2 -- color) Shaquille O'Neal (34) credited the Game 4 victory to the fight of his Lakers teammates.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer

Box:

LAKERS vs. SAN ANTONIO: Best-of-seven series tied 2-2